


Tales from the Ackerman Estate

by bluemallow



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, F/M, Female Hange Zoë, Fluff, Inspired by Jane Eyre, Levi Ackerman & Mikasa Ackerman Are Related, Medium Burn, Mikasa & Hange Are Best Friend, Minor Character(s) appearance, enemies to lovers (kinda), governess romance, mostly the veterans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29541066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemallow/pseuds/bluemallow
Summary: A young governess Hange Zoe was hired to teach Mikasa Ackerman, the younger cousin and ward of the owner of the great Ackerman Estate in Trost, Levi Ackerman. Their bad impression on each other alongside the polar opposite of their personalities should definitely make them enemies. And yet, a series of events led them to learn more about each other and even their own selves.[Levihan Victorian AU]
Relationships: Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë
Comments: 135
Kudos: 220





	1. The Gloomy Manor

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me after watching Jane Eyre (2011). Besides that, I'm also a sucker for period AU.  
> So, here you go, a Levihan Victorian AU that no one asked ;)
> 
> P.S if you are like me who needs visual references, just search on google (1870s outfits) and work your imagination from there :D
> 
>  **DISCLAIMER:**  
>  Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hange arrived to the place she will be staying at for her job.

It was the first week of March, and the year was 1871.

A horse was galloping along some country road, pulling a cart filled with hays and boxes. Behind that, a person can be seen sitting on the edge of the cart, she was wearing a maroon cloak which hides a purple dress underneath. A small strawhats with purple ribbon could also be seen resting on top of her head.

The said person smiles as she could feel a warm breeze grazing over her face and brown hair. She could also smell the sweet fragrance of flowers that was brought by the winds. 

Spring at last! 

Then, a pair of wrinkly hands tug a string of rope from around the horse, signalling the horse to stop.

“Miss, we have arrived,” the old man said as he pointed at a road on his left, “That way, hidden behind those tall trees.”

The woman hops out from the cart, patting her bustles from the dirts, before grabbing her trunk from the cart. She walked over to the old man and thanked him. Giving him her untouched packed lunch as a token of gratitude. The old man wished her good luck before turning his cart to the right.

After waving the old man goodbye, she walked to her left. Contrast to the brown road on the left side, this side of the road is greener. Which meant that this road was rarely used by anyone.

Suddenly, she felt her heart thumping on her chest.

_Calm down!_

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she walked past the tall trees, trying to mute her heart by focusing on the rustling of the leaves that dance on the trees. 

Then, it was quiet. 

She opened up her eyes and saw a vast array of green fields in front of her that looked so beautiful underneath the bright blue sky.

As she followed her trail with her eyes, she noticed that the road she was currently walking to will eventually lead her toward a building that stood tall on top of a small hill.

From where she is now, the building seemed small, but as she walked closer, it started to grow bigger and bigger. Eventually, she arrived in front of a manor, two story tall. The wide? Wide enough for her to know that she couldn’t measure it by hands.

It was intimidating.

The grey walls of the manor also didn’t help her much. In fact, it made her even more afraid. Despite the bright afternoon sun, the manor looked dark and uninviting.

She slapped both of her cheeks, trying to channel every last bit of courage from within. 

_Don’t quit on me now! You are already in Trost! It’s now or never._

Before losing her newfound confidence, she immediately knocked on the door.

She waited.

Time sure felt so slow when you were anxious.

Wait, this would be her first impression right? Will she meet the master of the house? What does he look like? Is he old or young? Is he mean or kind? Ah, she should’ve asked Erwin for the details, but she was too excited for the offer that she just accepted it without question. Wha— 

Her thought was cut down when the tall mahogany door opened itself, and from behind the door, stood a young man with light brown hair with clean suits. He smiled at her.

“Good afternoon, may I help you?”

His voice was soft and he looked so kind and welcoming. She lowered her guards around him and smiled, “Hello, my name is Hange Zoe. I’m the new governess.”

The young man opened his mouth slightly, _“Oh!”_ he exclaimed.

“Pleasure meeting you Miss Zoe. Please, welcome in.” He said with the same smile as before, moving away from the doorway to give Hange an access inside. She stepped into the foyer and took off her hat and cloak. 

There’s a big fancy mirror on the left walls of the foyer. She glanced at the mirror and saw her disheveled hair. It was supposed to look like an updo with hanging curls on the back, but now it looks like she has a thick curly ponytail on the back of her hair.

Not only that, she could also see some wrinkles on her dress.

Heck, even a few small strands of hays could be seen sticking on her.

She wasn’t a fashionista, or even someone who cares about her own appearance.

But still, first impressions be damned.

_Good job Hange Zoe._

“Excuse me, Miss Zoe.” A voice called. The young man gestured to her trunk, as if offering himself to carry it.

“Oh, I could carry this myself. But, thank you for the offer….” She intentionally hung her words and it confused him.

“Your name?” She finally asked when she realized he just stared at her like she grew a second head.

“Oh!” He widened his eyes, “It’s Moblit Berner, Miss.”

“Pleasure to meet you!” She smiled, “I think you just became my first friend here— and please, call me Hange.”

Moblit, who had already widened his eyes, continued to further widen his eyes. Out of shock? Out of confusion? He looked like he didn’t even know anymore. 

“Wh— What? I can not!” He exclaimed.

“Why not?” She nonchalantly asked.

“Well… You are older, and you clearly have a higher position than me, Miss.” 

“How are you so sure I’m older than you?” She asked innocently, and it made him panic.

“What?! I don’t mean you are old— Well, I mean, I’m only 20, so I guess a governess that looks so intelligent like you would be… older than me.” He explained, at least, he tried. The sight amused Hange, she likes him already!

“Yeah! That’s correct! I’ll turn 23 this year — and relax, I know you didn’t mean to say that I look like an old lady,” Hange laughed, “Putting that aside, I get what you are saying. But, I don’t see myself as higher than you. We are the same, working in this big manor just to get by each day, right?”

Moblit blinked once or maybe thrice before opening his mouth, “You are right, Miss Hange.” He said with a smile. “You can call me Moblit.”

He still addressed her with _Miss_ , but at least he was willing to use her first name. So, she grinned, “Well then, nice to meet you Moblit— Now, where should we go?”

  


* * *

  


Moblit led her to a grand door at the end of the foyer.

As she stepped into the room behind the door, she was welcomed into a big hall —really big one— decorated with paintings and sculptures. The floor was made out of shiny marbles and the wall was lined with white, black, and gold wallpaper. 

At the end of the hall, there’s a grand staircase that branched into two stairs, one to the left upper hall and one to the right upper hall. The railings were made of carved woods with such intricate design.

She looked up to the high ceiling to see a grand big crystal chandelier hanging on the center of the hall.

What an entrance.

Hange could work everyday until she died and would never be able to afford the whole room.

_Damn rich people._

Moblit took her to one of many doors that surround the great hall. She arrived at a drawing room that was decorated with many green and golden furnitures. Even the walls were plastered with the same color wallpapers.

The drawing room was large and filled with so many chairs, couches, and sofas. On the corner of the room, she could see a grand piano.

Moblit instructed her to wait there for a few minutes. She sat on one of the couches while drinking the tea that Moblit quickly prepared for her before disappearing behind the door. 

From where she was seated, she could see a large painting hanging on top of the fireplace. It was a portrait of a young woman wearing a white off the shoulder dress. Her black hair was parted in the middle, and there’s big curls hanging on both sides of her face. A white roses flower crown was worn on top of the hair to complete her look. 

She had a sharp jawline, thin pointy nose, and protruding cheekbones. On the first glance, she could come across as mean. 

But, she wasn’t like that at all. Her dark hooded eyes were sparkled with life. There was also a sweet smile painted on her thin lips. 

She looked kind and beautiful.

_Creak._

Hange shifted her attention to the source of the sound.

As the door opened, Hange saw Moblit and an older woman with black dress entered the room. Hange could spot a few strands of grey hairs in between her knotted blonde hair. The old woman introduced herself as Mrs. Weiss, the housekeeper.

As Hange stood up from her seat, Mrs. Weiss scanned her from up to down. 

She looked unpleased with whatever sight she saw in Hange. 

She didn’t say anything but her eyes said it all. 

Mrs. Weiss sighs before opening up her mouth to speak.

“I’m here as the representative of Mr. Levi Ackerman, the headowner of Ackerman Estate. He left me with a message, saying that he was sorry that he could not welcome you here by himself, as he has urgent business at the capital. But, he had already written me information that he would actually give to you if he met you in person.”

Hange was surprised and relieved at the same time when she knew that whoever this Mr. Levi Ackerman is, he will not be there on her first day. 

“Be grateful now Miss, that the master wasn’t here to see your —lack of professionalism in appearance.” Mrs. Weiss said with a soft yet mocking voice.

Hange wanted to protest but she knew that she had to endure this. 

At least for now.

“We’ll talk about your appearance later,” Mrs. Weiss said as she pulled out a stack of papers from her pocket. 

Hange had a bad feeling about that.

Mrs. Weiss cleared her throat, _“Miss Hange Zoe, I welcome you to the Ackerman Manor. As you know, you will work here as a governess for my younger cousin, Mikasa Ackerman. You will work from Monday to Friday from 7 AM until 8.30 PM. You may do anything on your day off, that is Saturday and Sunday. Also, I may not be there when you are working, but I have eyes everywhere in the manor, so don’t ever think of slacking off.”_

Hange has to stop herself from laughing from the silliness of the deep voice Mrs. Weiss does for impersonating the master of the house. 

_“When you agree to do this job, I take that you are also prepared for any rules that are set in this house. Listen here now! First, do not touch anything. Second, do not come into any room in this manor without approval from Mrs. Weiss. Third, do not come into the manor with dirty shoes or dress. Fourth, related to point number three, make sure to clean yourself before entering the manor. Fifth— “_

Hange already lost it by the fifth point.

It wasn’t her doings, it just happened. Her brain decided to shut off.

_“Miss Zoe!”_

“Yes!” She exclaimed, startled from the sudden mention of her name.

“Do you have any questions?” Mrs. Weiss asked.

“Uhm… no.” She answered, trying to sound as convincing as possible. It seems to be working as Mrs. Weiss smiles, although it comes more like a smug.

Mrs. Weiss grabbed another thing from her pocket, it was a small book. 

That pocket must be so deep.

Mrs. Weiss gave the book to her. Looking closer, it was a thin book that was made full from paper, even the cover. 

_‘Ackerman Estate Book of Rules’_ was written on the cover.

Mrs. Weiss said that everyone that lives in the manor has that book. Like what the title implied, it was written by Mr. Levi himself. There are 132 points of rules that had to be obeyed by everyone.

In retrospect, Hange had just ignored Mrs. Weiss' explanation of the said 132 rules.

At least she heard five of it, no, four of it.

Yet, she couldn’t fathom the thought of someone making 132 rules and made a book out of it. Although, from the look of it, it was more of a bible. 

Violation is equal to sin with the master as the God.

“Now Moblit will show you your room. If you need anything, just ring the bell.” Mrs. Weiss said, gesturing to Moblit before leaving the room.

Hange nodded and followed after Moblit. He led her up to the grand staircase, toward the right wing of the manor. She walked on a long hallway before arriving at a door at the end of the hall. 

Moblit opened the door and the room was beyond Hange’s imagination.

This, in fact, was not her first time working as a governess. She had slept in many guest bedrooms of some wealthy family’s manor and they were decent. 

But this room.

Saying the room is nice would be an understatement. This is the epitome of a guest bedroom that you would let people stay just to flaunt on your wealth.

The room was big, even bigger than her own room back at home. It could fit a big fluffy bed, a table and a chair, two armchairs, a fireplace, a cupboard, two bedside tables, while also still giving the room enough space to walk around.

She had to ask Moblit five times, just to make sure that he didn’t give her the wrong room. Each time, Moblit would answer that the room was directly chosen by Mr. Levi himself.

Did he really want to show off his wealth to her?

Not to mention his bazilions of rules.

She hasn’t met Mr. Levi Ackerman yet, but if she could say anything about him.

He seemed to be a pain in the ass.

  


* * *

  


That evening, just before dinner, Hange met her student for the first time, Young Miss Ackerman.

If Hange could describe her appearance, she would say that she looks like a walking gothic doll.

Everything about her is black and dark. From her hair, her eyes, her dress, her shoes, and even the way she talks and walks.

No wonder she lives in this gloomy manor.

She just turned eleven last month. 

Although, by the look of her two obsidian orbs, she was definitely much older than that. Hange wondered what might have happened to this child.

Not only that, she also didn’t show a lot of emotions.

She was... interesting.

Besides meeting Miss Ackerman, she also met the lady’s maid.

Her name is Nifa. She was the one whose job was to accompany Mikasa to wherever room or nook of the Manor she decided to be.

Nifa seems to be a sweet girl. Although she was still 18 years old, she took her job very seriously. She always makes sure that Miss Ackerman is well provided, whether physically or mentally. 

Looking back at the small girl, there’s a lot of questions roaming around her head, begging to be answered. However, Hange decided to not bother the girl tonight.

After the awkward and silent dinner, Hange excused herself to her room.

Hange took off her clothes and changed into her nightgown. 

After blowing the candles off, she lay herself down the bed. As she stared at the dark ceiling, she remembered the tour that Moblit had given to her earlier that day.

She couldn’t see any speck of dust on every corner of the Manor. Everything has their place in this manor, be it the objects or even the servants. 

It was a textbook definition of a perfect home.

Yet, it didn’t help the dull and eerie atmosphere that came out from every wall of the manor.

It may be a perfect home, but it was not a perfect house.

Miss Ackerman would not be able to learn a lot of things with this kind of atmosphere. Especially when she was left alone in this big manor by her supposed cousin and guardian.

It seemed that she needed to do something.

This would be tough though, but she would do anything to stay in this job.

_Hang in there, Hange!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After two years, alas, a new fanfiction project!!  
> Thank you for tuning by! 
> 
> Any comments and kudos are very much welcome!!!!
> 
> ((I intend to finish this before April,,,, wish me luck!))


	2. Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa's first day of school with the new governess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was blown away by all of your lovely comments and kudos :'D  
> Thank you so much everyone!  
> So here, the new chapter!
> 
> **DISCLAIMER**  
>  Shingeki no Kyojin belongs to Hajime Isayama

Mikasa stirred in her sleep, as a sting of light burned her closed eyes. Slowly, she opened up her eyes and saw a blurry figure of a lady staring at her.

Since when did Nifa wear a purple dress? Also, wasn’t Nifa a red head, not a brunette?

Wait, Nifa didn’t wear glasses.

Mikasa immediately sat up, her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. She was greeted by a cheerful _‘Good Morning, Miss Ackerman!’_ from the not-so-blurry-anymore figure.

It was the governess.

She looked over to search for Nifa, who was standing near the governess with a cup of tea in her hand. Nifa looked as confused as her.

“I’m sorry if I startled you, but today is your first day of learning.” She gestured her hand to Nifa, “That’s why I prepared you a special morning tea, I hope you like it.”

Nifa gave Mikasa the tea which she took with caution. Mikasa could feel the warmness slowly travel from the cup toward her hands. She looked over at the two ladies, and she could see Hange giving her an encouraging look while Nifa giving her an awkward smile.

The tea smells nice— so it wasn’t poisonous, at least.

After glancing backward and forward from the cup to the governess, Mikasa finally took a sip.

As the warm liquid entered her mouth, she could taste the sweet honey and mild flavor of the tea. She could feel every fibre of her muscles starting to loosen up.

“How was it?” The governess asked.

“Good,” she murmured in between her sips. The tea was indeed good, it tasted and smelled florally with a hint of mint aftertaste that woke her up.

“I’m glad!” The governess said with a bright smile, “My mother used to make it for me every morning. It’s calming but at the same time it kicks you just enough to get through the day.”

Mikasa nodded.

“I was worried that they didn’t have this particular tea, but I was dead wrong. There’s an entire pantry fully stocked with various teas! This household had enough tea for a lifetime, even more!” The governess made an exaggerated gesture with her hands, showing that she was truly amazed by the tea pantry.

Mikasa hummed. His cousin has a tea company, so it didn’t surprise her.

“Well then, because this is your first day, you get to choose what we will learn this morning!”

Mikasa looked at her governess with furrowed brows.

“I’m serious.” The governess said again, as if trying to convince her that she was indeed _serious_. Although with that bright smile of hers, she just looked funny.

She was never once asked about _‘what she wanted to do’_ ever since she lived in this manor.

Mikasa wanted to answer, _I don’t know._ Because, she genuinely didn’t know.

But, she could tell that this lady was trying her best to impress her. So, she should return the favor, at least.

“I think piano would be nice,” she whispered the first thing that came into her mind.

“THEN, PIANO IT IS!” She exclaimed loudly, almost giving Mikasa a heart attack.

_There’s enough wake up call for one morning_ , she thought.

“Alright then, I’ll leave you to Nifa! I’ll wait for you at breakfast, and after that we’ll do piano! See you later!”

She really stormed her way through her actions and words, because in a blink of eyes, she disappeared from her room.

Mikasa blinked.

What just happened?

Mikasa glanced at Nifa.

Nifa gave her a weak laugh, “Would you like a second, Miss?”

Mikasa looked at her empty cup before nodding at Nifa, “Yes, please.”

* * *

The governess lady couldn’t stop talking at breakfast. She talked about the squirrel she saw from her bedroom window, about how she almost got lost in the manor, and about the time during her childhood where she fell from climbing a tree.

It was very noisy.

It felt a little jarring to Mikasa, because usually she would eat in silence, with only Nifa standing by her side.

Well, the only exception was when her cousin visited.

Even so, the said cousin wasn’t a talkative person either.

The last time she got to sit with a chatty person was with her Dad.

She glanced at her governess. She sure was very loud.

But it felt nice.

Although she wondered how she was not thirsty from all of that talking she did.

* * *

The piano lesson was not bad, Mikasa thought.

She let her choose what song she wanted to play.

“I could choose?” She asked.

“Of course! Why couldn’t you?” She answered with a smile, a little bit confused by her remark.

Mikasa bit her lips as she flipped over the pages of the music book before stopping at a page.

“Oh, Turkish March? Popular, but quite a difficult piece if I may say,” The governess commented, but Mikasa knew that she didn’t say that to belittle her.

“Is this your favorite piece?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Alright, the piano is all yours, honey.” She said as she stood near the piano.

Mikasa took a seat and took a deep breath. She glanced at the music pieces in front of her. It’s actually been so long since the last time she played that piece.

With ease, her fingers played around the piano keys. The music that the piano made was so familiar to her, almost nostalgic and it made her happy.

The melody was fast paced and energetic, it was a classic upbeat melody that would always lighten up the room.

She wondered why she didn’t play this piece more.

Halfway through, from the corner of her eyes, she saw a pair of hands besides her. The hands moving on top of the piano keys, playing the same music as hers.

She stopped and blinked.

The hands were gone.

_This is why._

Then she heard a voice.

_“Are you okay?”_

She moved her head toward the source of the voice, staring right at her governess. She could feel a concerned gaze coming from the governess’ eyes.

Usually, she would keep all her thoughts to herself.

But, this person right here.

“I used to play this piece with my Mom. We used to play duets.” Mikasa said before realizing what she just did. The words just fell out from her mouth and she didn’t know why it happened.

“I see.” She smiled, “That’s why you love this piece, right?” The governess asked.

Usually, people would talk to her like she was a poor thing before asking her a bunch of questions. So, the moment the governess replied, Mikasa searched for any sign of pity or curiousity, but she couldn’t find any.

Mikasa nodded her head.

“Do you want me to play duets with you?”

Without a beat, Mikasa shoots her a confused look. Her eyes widened.

“Just an offer,” The governess said, patting Mikasa’s shoulder, “You can decline or you can accept it, your choice.”

. . . 

“Sure.” Came her soft reply.

Mikasa scooted over to the side, giving the governess a space to sit.

“Alright, let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” The governess said as she changed the page of the music sheet.

Mikasa nodded.

“Alright!” The governess nodded before counting, “3 and 4...”

As the first melody hit her ears, she was immediately transferred into another place.

Time slowed down, and she couldn’t hear anything but the melody. She felt like her hands were dancing on their own.

She knew every note because she had played it so many times.

She’s no longer an eleven years old girl wearing nice clothes in a mansion. Instead, she’s a seven years old girl living in a small house deep in a forest.

Fancy pattern of the green and golden wallpaper that surrounds the drawing room melted into a plain cream wallpaper

The clean white keys of the grand piano also changed into the yellowish keys of an old upright piano.

Everything was the same like it was four years ago.

The only difference that she could find was the hands that were playing with her. It was not a pair of pale hands with thin fingers, but instead it was a warm golden hand with long pointy fingers.

At that moment, she felt better than she ever was.

A laugh escaped her mouth, no, she was laughing the whole time. She couldn’t stop her mouth from smiling.

It was just so fun.

_So fun!_

Mikasa's heart was thumping with excitement, and before she knew it, she already hit the last melody.

“Wow! That was amazing! You played so well” The governess clapped her hands, Mikasa could see a big grin plastered on her face.

“Another round?” The governess asked.

Mikasa looked at the figure that sat next to her. A day had not passed from their first encounter, and yet, she felt like she already knew this lady for a long time.

There’s something gravitating with her that made Mikasa lower her guard down.

Maybe, just maybe, she could trust her.

“Yes!” Mikasa answered with a small smile.

The piano lesson was not bad at all.

* * *

Suddenly, it was Friday.

Times surely fly fast these days.

Mikasa had only spent four days with her governess, but during those short time, she already taught her a lot of things, be it sewing, painting, dancing, language, and even science.

She could feel passion coming from her governess in every word she spoke and every action she took.

Mikasa was amazed by her governess. There’s nothing she couldn’t do, she knew everything. She had answers to every question.

Mikasa couldn’t help to compare her to the previous governess who would only taught Mikasa about what she, a lady should do and shouldn't do. It honestly bored Mikasa to death.

That’s why she was so grateful to be able to meet her new governess.

She still remembered the trip they took to a nearby farm. She dragged her around to touch some cows, to feed some chickens, and to brush some horses, while also telling her about said animals, like their diet, age, biology, and history.

She could also remember when she taught her about flowers and trees in the garden. Beside telling her about the language of flowers, she also told her about how the flower came to life from seed to blooming while they were making flower crowns.

There were also times where they did sewing while fully speaking in French. It was quite hard for Mikasa to concentrate on two things at the same time, but the governess never mocked her for her weird accent or her wrong grammar. The governess even praised her _pretty_ embroidery, and it made Mikasa so happy.

Also, who could forget the time when she told her about yeast and fermentation while they did some baking in the kitchen. It was the first time Mikasa visited the kitchen, and not so surprisingly to anyone, the result was a big mess, and it made Mrs. Koch the cook so furious.

Oh, or maybe the time they play hide-and-seek in the manor and the governess almost knocked down an antique vase. She could never forget the horror that painted on Mr. Moblit’s face.

In summary, her days were filled with so many activities.

And, it was never once boring.

Like now, they were doing some cloud gazing in the garden. Lying on their back with the vast green grasses as their mattress. The governess spoke about the cloud shape and how the clouds came to be.

Mikasa never thought that she'd be interested to hear about clouds.

Yet, here she is.

“Hey, Miss Zoe,” Mikasa called her and it stopped the governess from her monologue about clouds. Mikasa looked at the figure that was lying beside her.

“Yes? What is it?” She said, looking back at her with a smile.

“Can I call you Hange?” Mikasa asked.

The governess widened her eyes before smiling widely, “Of course you can!”

“I don’t mind if you call me Mikasa, either.” Mikasa added with a soft voice.

Mikasa could see Hange’s bright eyes from behind the glasses, “Sure, Mikasa.”

There were a lot of things that Mikasa wanted to say to Hange, but— that would be a story for another day.

Today was already enough.

“Say, tomorrow is Saturday, so no study for you. Do you have something in mind?” Hange asked.

Mikasa hummed as if it would help her thinking, “I don’t think so.”

There’s a smirk growing on Hange’s face, “Yesterday, I was doing some exploration around the playing room, and I found a chest filled with so many interesting old toys. I think we could play around with it— if you want of course.”

Mikasa smiled, it’s been so long since she played around with friend, “Yes, that would be nice,” but then her smile fell, “Although, I don’t think my cousin would be pleased.”

Hange raised her eyebrows, “Why not?”

“He doesn’t like people removing or touching something from around the manor without his consent.” Mikasa explained like it was a fact. Which was indeed a fact that everyone in the manor knew.

“Huh?” Hange sat up, “Sounds like an uptight-no-fun guy.” Hange commented with a frown that she didn't even try to hide.

“Yeah, he is.” Mikasa said before sitting up, “I don’t think you would get along with him. I mean, he’s nice, but he doesn’t fit the conventional standard of _niceness_. I think he’s allergic to decent human interaction because he would rather be rude to everybody.”

Hange mouth went agaped, “Even to you?”

“Even to me.” Mikasa answered. Truthfully, she doesn’t mind him being the way he is. She knew he cared for her, but even through these past two years, she still couldn’t fully understand his cousin.

“But, he isn’t here. How would he know if we play around the manor?”

Mikasa sighed, “He always knew. He probably knew all the things we do these past few days. Besides, tomorrow is Saturday. He would always come to visit during the weekend.”

Hange slapped her forehead, “Oh, right, Moblit told me that.”

“But, I still think we should play,” Hange continued with a great determination.

“I don’t think that— “

“Don’t you want to play?” She asked.

Mikasa hesitantly nodded.

“Well, some rules were made to be broken, Mikasa. Besides, if he truly cared for you, I’m sure he would understand and let it pass,” Hange gave her a soft smile, “But, if he doesn’t, I’ll make sure he does.”

Mikasa could see a mischievous grin grow on Hange’s face.

To be honest, the idea of annoying the hell out of his cousin sounded so fun in her head.

Like, what’s the worst thing that could happen? If his cousin got mad, she could cover for Hange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, a person with zero piano skill: Ah yes, let's write them playing piano.  
> If you want to hear what they were playing in this chapter, you can watch some cover of 'Turkish March Four Hands' on Youtube. It's a really famous (you'd at least heard this music once in your life) fun piece!
> 
> Anyway, THANK YOU FOR READING!!!  
> Comments and kudos are very much welcome <3  
> Stay tune for the next chapter >:D


	3. Ring Toss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi returned to his manor and he could sense something was off in there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU GUYS! THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS AND KUDOS, THEY WERE SO SWEET!!!
> 
> So, here's the new chapter! Happy reading :D
> 
> **UPDATE: I changed the rating from G to T**   
>  ~~because Levi cursed so much~~
> 
> **DISCLAIMER: **  
> Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama.****

One saturday afternoon in the same old manor.

A fancy black carriage arrived in front of said manor. The driver announced their arrival, and the passenger immediately opened the carriage door.

A shiny pair of black shoes stepped into the wet concrete road alongside a black walking cane with golden ornate handles. From inside the carriage, emerged a man wearing a black outer coat with matching black top hat resting on his head. Protecting him from anything he deemed undesired.

Like dust and sun.

After paying the driver, he walked toward the grand door. Without knocking, he opened the door and stepped into the foyer. He took off his hat, his coat, and his cane to put it away on the side hanger.

Under the black coat, he wore a black suit and dark grey pants. Brown vest could be seen peeking from the inside of his suit, while a green silk ascot tie surrounds his neck elegantly.

He glanced at the mirror.

Not a speck of dirt nor any sign of wrinkles could be seen on every inch of his outfits.

He was truly an epitome of a classy gentleman.

But then, he sensed something. Even though he hasn’t yet come into the main hall, he could feel something was different with the manor.

He couldn’t put his finger on what exactly it was, but he knew that something was happening here.

Something that was never here before.

The man stepped into the main hall and looked at the surrounding furniture, paintings, and sculptures. He slides his finger on the surface of a mahogany table before nodding. The smell of the room is also clean, there’s no dust flying around.

The manor was still clean, so it wasn’t the culprit of this uneasy feeling he felt.

_So, what is it?_

He heard a commotion coming from the backyard. He looked over to the glass door that was located behind the grand staircase, and saw nothing but the usual green grass, garden, and lake.

_Wait._

The manor was usually quiet — _and he liked that very much._

Yet today, it felt so crowded.

He was sure that he had only added one additional member into the household.

The one and only, that is the new governess.

The new governess that he knew nothing about, except the fact that she is Erwin’s friend.

He got a bad feeling about this.

He didn’t get much update about this new governess. He did know about an incident in the kitchen involving the new governess and his cousin.

And about the _unusual_ way the governess taught his young cousin.

Also about the time the governess almost knocked a vase down from the table.

_Oh shit._

He should’ve asked Erwin more about her.

_Damn Erwin and his smooth criminal talk._

He had a strong feeling about who was responsible for this commotion.

So he walked to the door with the intention to greet this said person.

As he got closer, the voices grew louder in his ears. He could hear laughter, screams, and other sounds that he couldn’t recognize. There were probably more than one person behind this door.

When he opened the door, he immediately sensed something, but he was a little too late to react.

Suddenly, he heard a loud thud near his left ear.

Then, everything went quiet.

He could make out a few gasps and murmurs.

Slowly, she started to feel a pain on his left temple.

He touched his temple.

It wasn’t that painful, but still—

Before he could even register what just happened to him, a voice was heard.

“OH MY GOODNESS, I’M SO SORRY. ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

Truth to be told, a voice was an understatement. It was a loud as heck voice, almost like a scream.

As he glanced toward the scream, he immediately saw someone running toward him. The said person stopped in front of him, face colored with guilt and worry.

The thing is, he didn’t know who this person was.

He didn’t remember that a bespectacled person with bright light brown eyes, horrendous brown hair, and purple dress lives in this manor.

He wanted to say a lot of things toward her, like how angry he was—

But, he just stared up into her face with furrowed brows. She was awfully close to his face, and it made Levi take a step backward.

He could see the shift of her expression. She tilted her head and furrowed her brows before gasping.

“Oh no, where’s my manner!” She gave him a weak smile, “Uhm, my name is Hange Zoe, I’m the new governess— and you see, we were just playing ring toss, and it seemed that you got here at the worst time as possible...”

Levi’s expression remained unchanged.

“... I might have been a little way too excited when playing. I threw my ring too far and too fast, and that’s where you came in… in which resulted with your potentially bruised temple because it got hit with this wood ring I threw.” She explained as she picked up the forgotten wood ring from the grass.

“Ha...ha…ha…” She awkwardly laughed, before slowly hiding the ring behind her.

He didn’t say anything.

Well, he wanted to. He wanted to say how angry he was and how shitty she must be at body coordination.

But, he couldn’t mutter anything.

She fidgeted on her position before bowing her head “Please forgive me, sir!”

Before he could say anything, she continued. “Does it hurt? I’m really sorry! It’s probably hurt a lot, right? Do you need something? Water? Chair? Massage? — Oh I could make a cold compress for it, to prevent it from swelling. I could also— “

“Enough,” He finally said with a low voice.

He glanced at the shitty glasses she wore.

“Just— keep it down,” He said before going back inside, leaving the confused crowds behind.

* * *

Today was supposed to be a fun and rebellious little afternoon outing.

The toy chest that Hange was talking about yesterday was filled with a lot of old interesting toys that she probably couldn’t find today. One in particular is a set of Ring Toss made from wood.

She figured that it would be a lot of fun to play it with everyone. So she invited a few servants to play with her and Mikasa. They played with Moblit and Abel who are the footman, Keiji who is the coachman, and of course Nifa.

It was supposed to be like this: they would play around and have fun. If they got caught by the master, they would definitely get scolded and all, but then they would apologize, and at the end day, they would brush it off and forget about it.

The end.

Like, what’s the worst thing that could happen?

Then, Hange lost control of her ring and hit some random passerby.

It must be painful, and Hange wouldn’t be surprised if he got angry at her.

That’s why she was surprised to see that he wasn’t bothered by it. Although he did look annoyed.

She didn’t know who that man was, but Hange was sure that she saw his face somewhere.

But where?

“Oh God, I thought he would get mad at Miss Hange.” She heard a voice coming from behind her, it was Nifa. Hange looked behind her and saw the crowds she was just playing with, there’s a chorus of sighs coming from them.

“Who was that?” Hange innocently asked.

Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

Well everyone, except Mikasa.

“That was my cousin.” Mikasa said with a once in a blue moon smile, showing that she was truly amused by the recent events.

_Oh!_

_She just hit her employer in the temple with a wood ring._

_Huh…_

“T-that was Mr. Levi Ackerman himself?” Hange asked.

“Yeah, right in the flesh.” Mikasa answered.

_Huh…_

“I think you are on your luck, Miss Hange,” Moblit said, “Usually, he would snapped at people.”

Abel and Keiji nodded in union.

“Yeah, I was honestly surprised he didn’t say anything toward you, Miss Hange,” Nifa commented, nodding along with Abel and Keiji.

_Huh…_

“B-but what are the odds that he was so angry that he couldn’t say anything?” Hange asked them, this time she could feel the trembling on her legs.

Everyone fell into silence.

Hange could feel the flow of emotions rushing over her, from confusion, realization, terror, and horror.

Hange fell dramatically on her knees, feeling helpless with her soul just barely hanging on her body.

He was certainly different from what she had been imagining these past few days. Hange remembered the day she went around to explore the manor by herself. She couldn’t find any pictures that would resemble the current owner of the estate.

Moblit told her that the master put down any of his pictures from the manor.

So, Hange had to be creative with her imagination there.

From all the information she gathered around, she imagined a short middle aged guy with deep frown and half bald grey hair.

The kind of guy Erwin would definitely be friends with.

She wasn’t completely wrong though, he was indeed short and had a deep frown.

But he was still young!

And she hit him with a wood ring.

In his head!

_On their first meeting!_

Hange wanted to crawl and disappeared into the earth.

With that frown and furrowed brows, especially with the way he talked to her.

She was 100% sure that he was furious at her.

What if she lost this job?

* * *

Levi massaged his temple as he entered his study.

It kind of hurt, but the pain wasn’t coming from the spot he just got hit with.

His whole head was in pain!

He looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. He still got a lot of time to spare before evening. Then, he looked at the stack of neatly ordered folders on his table. There’s still some estate paperworks that he had to do.

He usually hated doing paperworks, but for today, the idea of busying himself with paperworks seemed nice.

He needed distraction.

Levi took off his suit and rolled his sleeves before sitting on his leather chair. He grabbed one of the folders on the table and began to work his way through the papers.

_Knock knock knock._

Levi looked up from his paper and stared at the door.

_Knock knock knock knock knock._

Freaking God, he definitely knew who was behind the closed door.

_Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock kno—_

“Come in!” Came his stern reply.

The door opened and he was right, it was the glasses governess.

His head began throbbing again.

Levi didn’t say anything and just stared at her as she closed the door slowly.

She walked toward his table and stood in front of it, a smile could be seen on her face.

“Hello again, sir— I mean, Mr. Ackerman. I’m Hange Zoe, the new governess.”

He grunted, “I know.”

“Yeah, of course you already know!” She said with a weak laugh.

Levi was finally able to take a good look at the person that was standing in front of him. The sole person who was responsible for… anything he felt today.

She had horrendous brunette hair that looked like a bird nest. Didn’t she know that there’s a gadget called a brush.

Let’s not talk about her dress. It was definitely made from great material that shows her high status, but god help with the wrinkles and the questionable stain he could see on the fabric.

Remembering the road he took this afternoon, he knew that it was raining this morning.

He looked down and saw her dirty hem, there’s dried mud clinging on the fabric. He couldn’t imagine what her boots would look like beneath those skirts.

“Did you clean your shoes?” He asked.

“Pardon?”

“Did you clean your fucking shoes before coming in?” He asked again, this time he raised his voice.

She was still smiling but he could hear from her tone that she was offended by him, “Of course, what do you think I am? I wouldn’t want to dirty the floor that the maids had worked hard to clean.”

Levi scoffed, “At least you read the book.”

“Ah that book,” Hange chuckled, “I didn’t read any of it.”

Levi was taken aback by her reply.

“I think it’s a waste of time.” She said with the same polite smile she had since the beginning, “I think I have enough human decency to know the consequences of my action. So, I don’t need that book.”

Levi widened his eyes and opened his mouth before closing it again.

“I think what you did was good, great even, because I could see how well-organized this manor was. I know this because I’ve lived in several manors, and some were not great with their management” The smile she has slowly faded away, “But, I think it could also be too much. You made everyone afraid to do something, because everything has to go through you— Even your younger cousin. She unconsciously thought that she couldn’t do anything, even play, without your approval.”

Did she come here just to lecture him?

In his ancestral home?

About his rules?

She let an exasperated sigh, “Nevermind that. What I’m trying to say is, if you care about everyone— which I think you do, you should do something about it. Don’t let it be something that weighs people down into one circle, instead it should be something that still gives room for everyone to move around on their own accord. Because, there’s more than this manor, it’s the people that live here.”

Levi blinked once.

The smile that was gone from her face gradually came back, “-- But I digress. I nearly forgot what I came here to.”

Levi blinked twice.

She stared at him with a soft look in her eyes, “I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done this afternoon, sir. I should’ve been more careful with myself while playing with potentially dangerous objects, like a wood ring. I— I promised to you that it wouldn’t happen again! I swear!” She raised her right hand, as if she was taking an oath.

Levi blinked thrice.

“So please, don’t fire me from this job! I really need this job!” She exclaimed.

Levi freezed, speechless, perplexed, and flabbergasted.

_Is this woman being serious?_

She was indeed being serious, staring at him with that look on her face. Like she was waiting for him to reply.

“I— You,” Levi tried to form coherent words but it was so hard. There’s like a lump stuck in his throat.

He closed his eyes and pursed his lips tight. He took a deep breath before letting a long sigh.

This woman will be the death of him.

He crossed his arm, “I will not fire you... yet. So now, be gone from my sight before I change my mind.” He gave her a piercing glare.

A big smile grew on her face, “Thank you so much, sir!” She said before excusing herself and bolting out of the room in a blink of an eye.

And just like that, she was gone.

Levi scowled, rubbing his eyes before letting another long sigh.

She was a freaking nightmare! Everything about her screamed danger.

She was the embodiment of everything he hated in this world.

Did karma decide to finally bite him back in the ass?

Levi made a mental note to avoid any unnecessary interaction with her. Luckily, he would only meet her during the weekend.

He looked at his paperworks that he already lost interest with.

He needed to blow some steam, and an image of a punching bag in his gym came into mind.

_That could do._

As he left his study and walked toward the direction of the staircase, he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard laughter coming from the drawing room.

He took a peek inside and saw the governess and his niece were having afternoon tea. The sight was obviously unladylike because he was sure everyone in the manor could hear their conversation.

He wanted to scold them, but— they looked like they were having fun, especially Mikasa.

He had never seen her like that since the first time she came to live with him.

It seemed like he really had to endure the four eyes governess for Mikasa’s sake.

_Well, fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (enter LEVI)
> 
> SO YEAH! I hope you enjoy this chapter :D 
> 
> Comments and kudos were very much welcome :3


	4. Servants' Hall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nifa invited Hange for a fun gathering at the servants' hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much much much for the lovely comments and kudos and bookmark and all :'D  
> It filled me with DETERMINATION to write some more >:D
> 
> Enjoy and happy reading!
> 
> **DISCLAIMER:**  
>  Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama.

“Thank you for coming, Miss Hange!” Nifa greeted, dragging Hange to a long table that was already filled with bottles of alcohol.

So, what happened here again?

A few hours ago, right after dinner, Nifa invited Hange for some fun gathering.

Thus, here she was, in the servants’ quarters, most specifically the servants’ hall.

The quarter was located in a semi-basement area that can be accessed by a door in the great hall, although it was quite in the corner, away from the center of the hall. You might miss it if you didn’t know the manor quite well.

It was intended, because servants weren’t supposed to be seen by the employer let alone guests. So, buildings were built with that in mind, and this century old manor is no exception.

And to Hange’s surprise, the quarter was actually very comfortable, it was clean and tidy. The warm cream color of the walls also gave the quarter a nice warm atmosphere, especially with the orange glow coming from the oil lamps.

He could see that the servants took really good care of their living area.

Which also meant that the master of the house also provided enough resources for the care of this area.

Hange shook her head, trying to push down a certain someone from her mind. She returned her consciousness to this moment, to this little fun night where she was seated next to Nifa at the long table in the servants’ hall, drinking some cheap alcohol.

“How are you doing with the job so far, Miss Hange?” Nifa asked as she poured the clear liquid into Hange’s glass.

“So far so good.” She answered, murmuring thank you when her glass was already filled.

Nifa nodded before asking again, “How about Mr. Levi?”

Hange halted her movement, stopping the glass from touching her mouth.

“Him?” Hange cringed as she remembered the event of that day. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

Nifa laughed, “I don’t blame you, Miss.”

“At least I’d only see him during the weekend.” Hange said before drinking, “Speaking of that, what did he actually do during the weekdays?”

“Oh, tp manage his company, of course. You know that, right? He has a tea company in Mitras.”

_Huh?_

There are two things that came to her mind, and that was:

_So that’s why they have abnormal stock of tea in the pantry._

and

_Wait, what?_

Hange furrowed her brows as she asked Nifa, “He owns a company? Why?”

Hange was confused because usually, a landed gentry like him, wouldn’t be in need of a job. The man could just breath and he would still earn money from his estate, his land!

Him owning a company would also be frowned upon in the high class society, because for them, working is only for middle class people.

_Weird._

“I honestly don’t know.” Nifa answered. “What I know is, he would always come here on the weekend to take care of his estate affair, to attend parties, and… to relax I suppose.”

The mention of parties reminded Hange of the event that transpired that evening. Hange was sure that she would not have dinner with Mikasa, because she would definitely have dinner with her cousin.

_Like hell Hange would eat with him on one table._

But then, she saw him standing near the grand door wearing black tailcoats, white shirt, white low-cut vest, and white bow tie.

He was wearing an evening suit.

A suit that specifically used to attend parties and balls.

“Oh God!” Hange exclaimed to Nifa, “So you’re telling me that this person travelled way back from the Capital, not only to visit his estate but also to attend social gathering? Didn’t he know that he has a young cousin that he could only see for two days in one week? I— I don’t understand why he chose to eat at some dinner party rather than having a real one with his cousin?” Hange gripped her glass, she was furious as she remembered the empty gaze that Mikasa had during their dinner.

“Well… ” Nifa shifted uncomfortably on her seat. “Mr. Levi is actually quite popular around here. Hence why he always has parties and balls to attend on the weekend,” Nifa answered before gulping her own drink.

Hange narrowed her eyes, “Really? I’m actually surprised, I don’t take him as a sociable guy, let alone popular. I — “

“HEY GUYS, COME WATCH MOBLIT CHUG DOWN THIS ONE BOTTLE!”

Both Hange and Nifa took a glance at the source of the sound and found Moblit seated at the end of the table while being surrounded by others. He looked wasted but his grip on the bottle didn’t falter.

The anger that she felt melted away at the sight of Moblit drinking a bottle of alcohol down to his throat like it was nothing while the others cheered at him.

She let out a chuckle, “Is he always like that?”

“Yes,” Nifa answered with a big smile, “You can’t blame him though, he has eight younger siblings… and probably other things he couldn’t mention.”

Hange gasped, “Oh!”

“I think that also explains why he’s such a mom, stressing over us everyday.” Nifa laughed, “Even though it could get a little annoying with his nagging and lecture, we knew that he cares a lot about us .” Nifa looked at Moblit with a warm smile.

Moblit who had just finished drinking, screaming at the top of his lungs, saying something about him being the king of this world.

“Yeah, I think he’s a really dependable guy.” Hange said with a soft smile while witnessing Moblit grabbing another bottle.

_Not when he’s drunk though._

Hange turned to Nifa, “How about you, Nifa? Do you have any siblings?”

“Oh, me? I’m the youngest of four siblings.”

“Oh! That must be nice to have siblings,” Hange said with a dreamy smile.

Nifa snorted and rolled her eyes, “That’s something a very lonely child would say.”

Hange nudge Nifa on the side, earning a laugh from the said girl.

After recovering from the high of laughing, Nifa slowly leaned on her hand and stared warmly into Hange’s eyes. “You know, it’s been fun since you came here, Miss Hange.”

Hange smirked, “Hold on now, it hasn't even been a week since my arrival.”

“I’m just saying,” Nifa shrugged with a smile, “I’ve been here for five years, and I never met a person like you, Miss. You are one of a kind.”

“Aww, I thank thee for the compliments.” Hange giggled, “Although maybe you spend too much time around _Mr. Levi ‘emotional constipated rock’ Ackerman_ , that you're just grateful to finally see people like me.”

Nifa let out a loud laugh, “That’s too harsh, Miss Hange! He is actually not that bad, as long as you didn’t get to his bad side.”

Hange snorted, “I would be dead before it, then.”

She probably already hit a lot of his bad sides.

Hange scoffed as she leaned on her hand, “That’s why I don’t understand why he’s popular. With the way he talks and acts, he’s not a fun person to be around with.”

Nifa nodded, “I get what you are saying, Miss, but— you forgot that he is also young, rich, and has high social standing. Which are the three characteristics that certainly secured a good marriage. I’m sure there’s a lot of parents that wanted him as their son in law.” Nifa glanced at Hange with a smirk, “Not to mention that the master is also handsome, right?”

Hange gagged, “Oh please, I would rather kiss a frog than marry that goblin.” she mocked before her expression suddenly turned serious, “My lack of attraction aside, there’s also the fact that we belong to different social classes. I’m sure that I would be the last person he would ever intend to marry.”

Nifa closed her eyes and sighed, “Ah, that’s true.”

Hange laughed, “Besides, I don’t really think that there’s someone out there who wanted to marry me.”

Nifa gasped, “Who wouldn’t marry someone like you?”

Oh, there are some, Nifa.

“I might come from a respectable family, but I’m not someone you’d call a lady.” Hange said with a weak smile. “Not to mention a wife, I don’t think I’m capable of being the _perfect_ wife.”

Nifa stopped herself from drinking.

“That’s why I really need this job. Without this, I don’t think I will be able to survive for long— not me, not even my Mom.” Hange continued as she swirls the liquid inside her glass before taking a sip.

“I could only imagine how hard it must be for you, Miss Hange.” Nifa said in a soft voice.

“Yes.” Hange sighed, “But, there’s also this feeling of… I don’t know… I just— I just couldn’t see myself doing this job for years to come. I mean— I love this job, especially after I arrived here, but… I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life.”

Nifa didn’t say anything, but Hange could feel the caring gaze Nifa gave to her.

“However, the only way for me to retire is through marriage… which honestly, it baffled me that I had to wait for this _husband_ to save me.” Hange ran her hand through her hair. “But then, we don’t have many choices, don’t we? With our limited income, inheritance, or even skills, we couldn’t do much other than to marry for financial security. After all, we had to do what we should do to stay alive, right?”

Hange took another gulp from her drink before laughing, “Ah, I’m sorry. We shouldn’t be talking about this, right? I sh— ”

“I truly understand what you meant, Miss Hange.” Nifa interfered, her caring smile still painted on her face. “You know, I love my job, but forever… it’s just seemed too long for me. I don’t want this job to be forever, I also want to do something else.”

Hange raised her eyebrows, “You do? What is it?”

“Uhm... I actually wanted to become a tailor,” Nifa bowed her head as if avoiding Hange’s gaze. “It’s a stupid impossible dream actually.”

“What? No! I don’t think it’s stupid or impossible.” Hange exclaimed with furrowed brows before smiling, “Granted, it wouldn’t be easy and you probably wouldn’t enjoy the process, but there’s a saying that said _’to the stars through difficulties’_ and I believed that.”

Nifa raised her eyebrows.

“With that being said, I can see it! You, being a tailor! From the way you always dress Mikasa, you have a really great sense of style and fashion. I know you can do it, Nifa!”

Nifa smiled shyly, “You give me too much credit… but thank you.” Nifa sighed in content, “How about you, Miss Hange? What do you want to do?”

“Me?” Hange hum a tune, “I want to study.”

“Study?”

“Yeah, study!” She exclaimed with a laugh, “I want to earn a degree— no, a lot of degrees.”

Nifa widened her eyes, “Really? That’s amazing, Miss Hange.”

Hange could see a smile blooming on Nifa’s face.

“If it’s you, I know it’s possible.” Nifa added.

Hange felt a warm inside her chest as she enveloped Nifa in a sudden tight hug.

“Whoa, Miss Hange—”

“Thank you, Nifa.” Hange whispered.

Hange could felt Nifa’s tense body slowly loosened up. Nifa tapped her back, “Thank you, too, Miss Hange.”

Hange closed her eyes.

It felt nice to finally let that out.

_Until…_

“OHHHHH, HIC! WHAT IS ZISSS? GROUPPPP HUG? LE’ ME JOYN.”

_Huh?_

Suddenly, Hange felt additional weight on her body.

It was Moblit.

Drunken Moblit.

Sobbing as he hugged Hange and Nifa.

“Hey, Moblit! Get off them!” Said someone that Hange recognized as Keiji.

Hange could feel Moblit being dragged from her and Nifa, she could also hear Moblit whining.

It took three grown men to release Moblit, or more specifically, release them from Moblit.

Moblit then passed out on the floor, still whining.

Hange could only look at Moblit with widened eyes before erupting into a loud laugh.

That night, she learned that Moblit is an absolute alcohol maniac who turned into a melancholy crazy person when he’s drunk.

Not only that, she also learned that Moblit wasn’t the only one who wasted.

Because she herself was also wasted.

Hange couldn’t remember the half portion of the night, but she could vividly recall being carried by two people to her room.

But still, what a fun night.

* * *

Levi came home from another _awful_ night that he was glad it was already over.

He stepped into the foyer and was welcomed by Abel.

Without even trying, he could smell it.

“Have you been drinking?” He asked as he took off his hat and cloak.

“Uh, right— Yes, sir!” Abel answered, grabbing Levi’s hat and cloak before putting it away in the cloak room.

Levi didn’t really mind with his servants having a drunken night as long as it didn’t hinder their job.

“Alright. Just don’t get too carried away.” He said.

“Yes, sir!”

“How about the bath?” Levi asked, taking his white gloves off.

“The maids are preparing the bath for you as we speak, sir. It should be ready by now.” Abel informed.

Levi nodded, “Right, thank you. You may leave.”

Levi walked toward the grand staircase and stopped when he saw something at the corner of his eyes.

He saw a pair of glasses lying on one of the steps.

He stared at it before bending down to grab it.

_This woman again?_

From the look of it, she probably took a part in the servants’ drinking adventure.

She probably got drunk.

_“Tch.”_

Levi inspected the pair of oval lenses. There’s dust and fingerprints painted all over the lenses.

_No wonder she had trouble at throwing things._

Without any second thought, he grabbed his handkerchief and began to wipe the lenses and the frame.

After that, he inspected the glasses, making sure that all was clean. When he was satisfied, he carefully folded the glasses.

At the same time, he heard steps coming from the left wing. He looked up and saw two maids descending the left wing stairs, they stopped and bowed when they saw him.

“The bath is ready, sir.”

“Thank you— and before you leave, can you give this back to the governess? She should be in her room.” He said as he handed the spectacles to one of the maids. “Don’t touch the lenses!” He quickly added.

The maids nodded and they excused themselves before walking toward the right wing.

Levi folded his handkerchief and stared at it before putting it back inside his suit.

_Alright, time to end this long day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;) 
> 
> Fun Fact: This was actually planned as chapter 3.5 and this was also probably one of the hardest chapter I've ever written for this fanfic.
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much welcomed :D


	5. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi looking back to the past three months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 KUDOS?! I'M QUAKING!!!!  
> THANK YOU GUYS for all the kudos, lovely comments, and the bookmarks.  
> What would I do without all of you :'))
> 
> Without further ado, I present to you chapter 5  
> ENJOY!
> 
> P.S PROBABLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER EVER.
> 
>  **DISCLAIMER:**  
>  Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama.

Three months.

Three months had passed since that day.

Three months of watching the four eyes governess roaming around the manor.

_Three months._

Fortunately, he survived those gruelling weekends he spent in the manor.

He did that by tolerating and, to some extent, ignoring her existence.

Unfortunately, everytime he came back to the manor, it always felt different from the last time he left it.

He was sure it was all her doing.

Because it’s all started ever since she stepped into this manor.

And it irritated him so much!

But, he couldn’t find himself to scold her.

He couldn’t even be in the same proximity as her.

Like, he just knew that something bad would happen if they ever come in contact.

They only talked when it’s important, and mostly it was about Mikasa’s education. She would update him every month about Mikasa’s accomplishments. She would also tell him about the study plan she made for Mikasa.

He would comment a little, and that’s pretty much it. Five minutes and it’s done.

If they ever met anywhere in the manor, she would nod at him and politely smile, but he would only stare at her in silence before glancing away.

He never replied or even initiated the nod.

She probably loathes him.

He didn’t mind that though, because rest assured, the feelings are mutual.

_Yeah._

_It’s all good and easy._

_Good and easy._

_Actually, no._

He might be successful in avoiding the four eyes governess, and yet he couldn’t shake her away from his mind. He had been thinking about the speech that she told him during their first meeting.

_And it bothered him._

He wanted her to leave his freaking mind!

So he thought, in order to do that, he had to do something.

So, he actually spent a whole day reviewing his rules before finally deciding to revamp said rules.

And no, it’s not because of the governess, _of course no._

He consciously decided to —not because some governess told him to— remove the book completely. He would later summarize the whole book into a compact five points of rules, that is: Cleanliness, Honesty, Discipline, Order, and Workers’ Right.

_Yeah, that could do._

_It will be easier for them to remember five bullet points than a hundred right?_

_Yes, he did this to help his employer._

_Moreover, the rules were already outdated, so it was bound to be updated after all._

_Yeah, it wasn’t because of that governess._

Not only to his servants, he also did the same thing with hundreds of rules that he had in his tea company and to the people that live in his land.

Might as well fuck it all.

And of course, it shocked everyone. They looked at him like he just came back from being dead.

Even her, the shitty glasses looked at him like he was some kind of impostor.

_Anyway._

He also thought he might as well do something to her cousin.

_Again, might as well fuck it all._

So, his mind went back to one Sunday morning in April. He and Mikasa were having breakfast, and as always, nobody said anything.

Suddenly, he blurted out, “You know, you should grow up. You don’t have to ask me anything, just do whatever shit you want to do. I’m not your nanny.”

Mikasa choked on her salad.

_He sure is bad with words._

_He knew that, but still._

Nevertheless, he did it again the next week, at the same time and the same setting.

“Hey you, brat. I can’t read whatever you have going around on your crappy mind. If you need anything, use your mouth to tell me. I don’t want you to curse me in your sleep because you think I’m neglecting you.”

This time, Mikasa choked on her milk.

_He just so fucking bad at this, huh?_

Even so, he did that again the next week, and the week after. Now, everytime they have breakfast together, she would always glance at him every now and then before swallowing her food.

Honestly, it was amusing.

It also seemed like his _bad_ words reached her.

One day, during their mandatory Sunday breakfast, she told him that she needs a new dress because her current dress didn’t fit her anymore.

He glanced at her and noticed that she indeed grew bigger every time he visited.

“I also want to choose my own dress.” she continued and it surprised Levi, because ever since she came here, she would usually let him buy her outfits.

Which was weird because why would she trust him? He didn’t know a thing about dresses.

So, imagine him walking stupidly into a dressmaker shop with no reference whatsoever. Imagine him standing in the middle of the shop for minutes before finally the worker approached him.

In the end, he would just choose the darkest dress with the nicest fabric from the series of dresses that he was offered to.

In his mind, dark dresses are practical to hide dirt.

Also, he didn’t really care about the latest model or anything.

For him, Mikasa looks good in any dress.

Besides, she didn’t seem to mind the dress he chose.

So he thinks he did good.

“Because you are terrible at choosing colors and models.”

Levi almost lost a grip on his cup.

“No wonder you don’t have many friends.”

_Brat._

Long story short, here he was, riding a train on Friday evening because he had a fitting appointment with Mikasa on Saturday morning.

_Really, what a brat._

* * *

The city was bustling as always.

Filled with the oh-so-fancy men and women with their oh-so-fancy children. They were either walking with their heads up in the air, walking in groups and giggling at anything they saw, or even walking with their expensive imported outfits.

Well, the street that he and Mikasa were currently walking was pretty much filled with five stars shops, restaurants, and hotels. So, it was no surprise that he could see many fancy women and men. Levi and Mikasa are no exception, whether they like it or not being in the same category as them.

In contrast, from the corner of his eyes, he could notice a girl in dirty clothes was trying to sell boutonnieres made from cheap and wild flowers to passing gentleman and gentlewoman.

Not far from that, there’s also a boy with ragged clothes standing near a bakery, yelling whatever articles that were in a buck of newspaper he was trying to sell.

He glanced at Mikasa who was walking by his side.

She was wearing a beautiful dark blue silk dress, and on her head she wore a matching hat with bows and flowers.

One glance and everyone would instantly know that she’s coming from an upper class background.

But, they didn’t know that she could be that flower girl.

_Hell._

Even he could be that newsboy.

“Hey, Levi. I think I want some flowers.” Mikasa suddenly said, and it brought him back to reality.

He paused for a while before answering, “Sure,”

Mikasa bought four boutonnieres from the girl.

“What do you want to do with that many?” Levi asked as he paid for the flowers.

“This one is for Hange, this one is for Nifa, this one for Mr. Moblit and—” Mikasa shove one to him, “-...this one is for you.”

He furrowed his brows.

Kind of redundant that she gave him something that he bought for her.

He took it anyway.

He put it on the lapel of his suit.

He probably look stupid wearing it in a broad daylight.

Moreover, he caught a quick smile forming on his cousin before she returned to her flat casual expression.

Yeah, he probably look stupid.

“Hey Levi, you know what flower is this?” Mikasa asked.

Levi stared at his flower, “Probably some cheap flower.”

Mikasa snorted, “Of course you wouldn’t know. This is Pink Carnation.”

Levi raised one of his eyebrows, “So?”

Mikasa flashed him a smirk, “Nothing!” She said before humming a tune.

_Very weird kid._

“Since when do you care about plants?”

“When you were away selling those old dried leaves, I spent my time studying with Hange, so my brain will not rot like you.”

Levi threw a dirty look at Mikasa and scoffed, “Oh, I see, your governess taught you a lot of things, huh?”

Mikasa shrugged, “Well, she taught me a lot of things that you wouldn’t understand.”

He could detect that she was in fact, mocking him, especially with those grins on her face.

_This—_

_Alright Levi, she’s just a brat._

He took a deep breath and decided to let it pass. He ignored her and chose to look at the boy that was standing near the bakery.

“Hey you, newsboy!”

The said newsboy heard Levi and immediately approached him, “Yes, sir!”

Levi asked him for one of those _bullshit papers_ that he sold, which the boy gladly offered.

“What do you need a newspaper for?” Mikasa asked as they continued their walk.

Levi glanced at her, “Toilet paper.”

“Yeah, funny.” Mikasa rolled her eyes before stopping in front of a shop. It was a photography studio, seemed new.

She gaped in awe, “Hey Levi, how come we never took any photos? Hange showed me once, and I think it looks amazing.”

“Huh? What for? I think paintings are fine— Come on, move your shitty legs or we’re going to be late.” Levi grabbed Mikasa and dragged her, forcing her to walk again.

This governess kept coming into their conversation, and he was not pleased by it.

Mikasa frowned, “You are no fun, damn old man.” She said as she forced herself out of his grip, “I hope you got strangled by your cravat and died.”

“If I die, I will fucking haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“Fine by me.” Mikasa smiled, “You are welcome to haunt me while I spend away the fortune I inherited from you.”

Levi stared at her with wide eyes.

The first time he met her was two years ago. She was a cold quiet little girl whose height barely reached his shoulder.

Now, she’s a certified annoying brat that stood tall, almost touching his ear, and probably will grow taller than him at some point.

“You, shut up now, or I wouldn’t buy you that shitty dress you wanted so much.”

In the end, Levi had to forcefully drag her to the shop.

_She is definitely a brat._

_An annoying one._

* * *

“ERWIN!”

Levi flinched, trying to tune out that high pitched scream from his ears.

He had just got back from accompanying Mikasa to the shop, in which they ended up buying more than one dress. He had to pay for three new dresses, a new coat, a new shoe, and a new hat for his lovely young cousin.

They still have to wait a few days for the clothes to be done, though. So, Mikasa still had to wear her already small dress that she said was _ugly._

But then, the whole trip of waiting for her fitting and her choosing the dress took longer than he thought and it almost made him crazy, his only friend was the newspaper he bought.

That’s why he just wanted to take a quick nap in his study.

Until some thick eyebrows blond guy decided to come to his house uninvited and unannounced.

Not unannounced per se, because he did tell Hange that he will come, but he didn’t tell him at all.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Erwin said with that innocent charismatic smile that he so wanted to slap.

_‘Surprise you’ my ass._

What pissed him the most was how elated this shitty glasses was for seeing Erwin. She jumped and hugged him while squealing like a little girl. Meanwhile, Erwin gracefully returned her hug with a kind smile, patting the governess on the head.

_Didn’t they know that they were in his house?_

He just stared at them with an uninterested gaze.

After that, Erwin said alongside the line of _borrowing Hange for a little while._

“What? You don’t have to ask me. You can kidnap her for all I care.” He muttered with a scorn.

She didn’t seem to be bothered by his comment though, or maybe she just chose to not care at all.

Either way, he was glad that he was able to get away from these two.

Before taking a nap, he decided to check on them.

_He was making sure they weren’t making any troubles._

From the windows of his study that looked over to the back garden, he could see how close Hange and Erwin were. They seemed to be engaged in some kind of interesting talk.

Well, he didn’t care, so why bother.

He said that as he kept looking after them for another minute.

* * *

“So, how was she?”

“How was what?” Levi replied as he fixed his cufflink, not bothering to look at the asker.

“Miss Hange Zoe, the governess.”

Levi glanced up toward Erwin who was seated in front of him. They were both inside a carriage as it moved toward this famous Earl’s manor that Levi couldn’t remember the name. Levi was supposed to attend this ball alone, but turned out, the Earl invited Erwin too. That’s why Erwin came into his place _unannounced_ , because he thought they could come together.

He wouldn’t say it, but he was glad to be able to attend the ball with Erwin. He could use some real companions for this supposedly long night. But then, he had to ruin it with that question.

“She’s okay.” Came Levi’s short reply.

Erwin laughed, “I was afraid you both will try to kill each other, because I knew well how different you two could be.”

“I’m aware,” Levi sighed, “That’s why I tried to avoid her.”

“I assume that you are satisfied with her.”

Levi hummed, “She’s not bad.”

“So, you will not fire her, right?”

“For now? No.”

Erwin crossed his arms and leaned back on his seat, “Color me surprised.” Erwin said with a grin.

Oh, he really wanted to slap that grin out of his face.

“Like I said, I just don’t care. Mikasa likes her, so I just need to endure her.”

“I can’t believe I said this, but— I’m proud for you.” His grin changed into a soft genuine smile.

Levi threw a dirty look at him, “What the fuck, Erwin.”

“I can’t believe that there’ll be this version of Levi Ackerman.” Erwin said, his smile still staying strong on his face.

Levi felt a shudder on his body, staring at Erwin with disdain.

Erwin raised both of his hands and laughed, “Okay, I will stop.”

_Fucking finally._

“But still…” Erwin shifted his expression to a serious one, “Thank you Levi for agreeing to all of these. I’m sure her parents were beyond grateful for you, even Hange herself.”

Levi only replied with a grunt and side eye.

When Erwin visited him months ago to recommend a young woman to become a governess to his niece, he didn’t really think much about it. He accepted it because he trusts Erwin and he just happened to be searching for governess, as Mikasa’s previous governess retired.

He only knew little about her, Erwin only told him that she is a daughter of a lawyer in Stohess who just happened to be Erwin’s mentor back in Law School.

But, with how she really wanted to stay on this job and with how Erwin thanked him, Levi started to wonder about her.

A middle class woman like her working as a governess was not surprising as it was common in this time. He knew that she might have some problems that forced someone like her to have a job.

But, he didn’t bother to ask the details to Erwin because he just didn’t care at all.

Then, he met her.

Now, he wondered…

_Creak._

It was the sound of the carriage’s door being opened from the outside.

“Right on time,” Erwin said as he checked on his pocket watch, “Come on Levi.”

Erwin and Levi quickly get off from their carriage while saying thank you to Keiji who drove them.

“Put on a smile, like I taught you.” Erwin nudged Levi as they walked toward the gigantuous manor.

“I’ll kill you.” He muttered under his breath.

Erwin smirked proudly, “No you won’t.”

Levi clicked his tongue and looked away from him.

Erwin noticed a group of women who had just arrived at the same time as them, “Look!” He whispered.

Levi followed his gaze before rolling his eyes, “I’m not here for that.”

“Why not? You are almost 26 but still no wedding in sight.” Erwin said, emphasizing on the numbers.

“And you’ll turn 31, Erwin. I think you should be the one who hurries it up before you hit your expiration date.”

Erwin laughed, “Touché.”

“Yeah, so shut up. I just want this to be over,” Levi continued before finally putting the best 'smile' he could ever make.

_Another long night._

* * *

Levi opened his eyes and looked around.

He was in his study.

He stretched his body and rose up from the chair he just slept in.

He heard a soft tune melody coming from the walls beside him.

This was not a rare occurrence.

His study was located next to the drawing room, so he could hear every time someone played the piano.

He knew well who played that piano.

When Mikasa was teached by the previous governess, she rarely played piano outside the class. These days though, she would always play the piano with her governess on the weekend, usually on Sunday morning, right before breakfast.

Levi leaned back on his seat.

Honestly, it relaxed him.

Although today the piano sounded different than usual.

After drinking a glass of water, fixing his shirt, and wearing his grey vest, he decided to check on them before going to the bathroom.

So he went out and peeked inside the drawing room.

He saw Mikasa and the governess were sitting together in front of the piano, playing and singing duet.

_That’s new._

_They never sing before._

_Well, at least not when he’s here._

He couldn’t recognize the songs, but he listened anyway.

He always knew that Mikasa had a nice soft voice.

But the governess, this was his first time hearing her.

Her voice was... not bad, although it was too loud and too energetic than he usually heard from parties.

Yet surprisingly, their voices blended well and created a beautiful harmony.

Levi looked at the governess. She looked the same as always, with that stupid smile, stupid hair, stupid dress, stupid everything.

Even so, he couldn’t take his eyes from her.

She looked so bright with whatever the hell she was doing right now.

And it stirred something inside him.

Suddenly, she glanced at him.

And at that exact moment, their eyes met.

Her big eyes sparkled with glee from the singing.

While his cold one widened with pupils dilated.

_Oh._

With his fast reflex, he immediately went away.

_Shit._

Did she just catch him spying on them?

He wanted to die.

Which seemed impossible because he felt that his heart couldn’t stop thumping inside his chest.

_Shit!_

* * *

**Extra:**

“What is it, Hange?” Mikasa asked when she noticed Hange stopped playing.

“I think I saw someone,” She answered, eyes glued to the direction of the door.

“Really?” Mikasa followed Hange’s gaze, “Who?”

“I don’t know, I couldn’t see.” She narrowed her eyes, “I think I have to renew my prescription."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho . . . ho . . . ho . . .
> 
> I had mixed feelings about this chapter, like I had fun but at the same time I was like UGH! WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!  
> I hope you like this chapter :)
> 
>  _Anyway_  
>  THANK YOU FOR READING!  
> Do tell me your thoughts about this chapter!
> 
> P.S Since the new semester is just around the corner... New chapter update might come later than usual;;;  
> BUT I SWEAR I'LL TRY TO FINISH IT BEFORE APRIL


	6. Left Wing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was already past midnight, but Hange still couldn't sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AS ALWAYS THANK YOU FOR READING MY LAST 5 CHAPTERS :') You guys rock, I love y'all so much  
> HERE'S ANOTHER ((GIGANTUOUS)) NEW CHAPTER.  
> Enjoy!
> 
>  **P.S Some historical term**  
>  Chamberstick: candleholder; designed to be carried; shorter in height, with a flat, circular base that was sometimes ornamentally shaped (Snowdon, L).  
> Dressing gown: (housecoat/morning gown) a robe, a loose-fitting outer garment, worn by either men or women (WIKIPEDIA).  
> Wing: part of a building that is subordinate to the main, central structure (WIKIPEDIA)
> 
>  **DISCLAIMER:**  
>  Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama

Hange opened up her eyes and saw the dark ceilings of her room. She grunted and rolled to her side.

She had been trying to sleep for maybe an hour or maybe more, at this point she just didn’t know anymore.

She tried to count imaginary sheeps, she tried to steady her breathing, she even tried to walk around her room to tire herself out.

But her attempts were futile, there are no signs of dreamland in the horizon.

She knew why she couldn’t sleep.

_Growl._

Hungry. She’s hungry.

She tried to force herself to sleep, but it seemed like her body wouldn’t let her relax until they got what they needed, and that is food.

She sat up and touched her stomach before letting out another grunt. She grabbed her glasses that were on her bedside table and wore it, clearing the blurry view that she had before. Then, she stood up to put on her bed slippers before draping a long cream dressing gown over her knee length chemise. Her straight hair was loose and fell to her mid back, not bothering to tie it or even brush it.

_It’s not like he would meet someone at whatever hour is this, right?_

She went to her work table to light up the candle of her silver chamberstick. Slowly, the dark room was filled with a warm flickering glow. She took the chamberstick with her as she left her bedroom.

The hallway was dark with her candle being the only source of light, and it oddly made the hallway longer than usual. It didn’t bother her though, she walked slowly through the darkness with one destination in mind, kitchen.

After all, this wasn’t her first time venturing to the kitchen at night.

She descended each stairs with ease and stopped to look at the clock that was mounted on the wall of the grand staircase.

12.30 AM.

_Seems about right._

With fast steps, she dashed through the great hall and arrived at the dining room. After that, she went inside a door that led toward a hall that connected the dining room to the kitchen.

The kitchen was dark and quiet when Hange arrived.

Hange glanced at her surroundings before carefully approaching a white door, and slowly opened it to reveal mountains of jars, baskets, and sacks. She went inside and moved her candles around to scan the shelves before settling on one apple and a few strawberries.

After that, she closed the door and sat down on the floor, leaning back to the kitchen island. She put her chamberstick to the side and blew the candle off. The kitchen instantly lost its only source of light, so she was left in the cold darkness of the room, but she liked it, being alone in the middle of the darkness to savor her hunts.

She stared into nothing as she munched and swallowed the apples.

_This sure brings back a lot of memories._

. . .

. . .

. . .

_Creak._

Hange freezed, her muscles went tense with pressure at the sound of the door being opened.

Then, she heard slow footsteps coming toward her alongside the sound of creaking from the wood floors. She gulped as the room began to be illuminated with warm orange glows.

_Who?_

_Who would come to the kitchen in the middle of the night._

_Who?_

Then it stopped.

Hange also stopped breathing.

_What if it’s a burglar?_

_What if—?_

She didn’t know what went inside her mind, but without a second thought, she stood up from her position to face whoever this person was. Hand in position to throw her apple at any time—

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!”

Hange was startled by a high scream.

_Wait a minute._

“MOBLIT?!” Hange exclaimed.

The said person stopped screaming and looked at her with a dumbstruck expression.

“Miss… Miss Hange?! Oh- Oh Lord, you— Don’t scare me like that,” Moblit said with a hand clutching his chest while breathing frantically.

Hange looked at him with furrowed brows before erupting into a loud laugh.

Moblit’s face burned red, “Miss Hange!”

“Sorry— It’s just… You should’ve seen the look on your face.” Hange said in between her laugh.

Well, she couldn’t blame Moblit though. Probably the last thing he would want to see in the kitchen is a woman with long hair and light white dress emerging from the darkness.

“Not funny, Miss.” The poor man said as he was still trying to recover from his shock and his embarrassment.

Hange noticed that Moblit was still wearing his black coat outfits, “You still haven’t changed from that?”

“Huh? Oh, Mr. Levi and Mr. Smith returned from the party around half an hour ago, so I helped them to prepare for the night.” Moblit explained. “After that, I came here to check on the kitchen. Mrs. Koch would often forget to close the pantry or turn off some oil lamps, so I just want to make sure that all is safe.”

“Just you?”

“Oh, there were also Abel, but he already went back to the quarters.” He said before looking at Hange from up to bottom and gaping before glancing away, “ And… W-what about you, Miss Hange?”

“Ah, me? Nothing much, just doing some taste tests— You know, to make sure that they are good.” She said while showing Moblit her half eaten apple.

“I see…” Moblit muttered, still not looking at her.

She didn’t understand why Moblit suddenly became jittery.

Oh, wait, she knew. He was probably embarrassed to see her in this _semi-minimal_ attire.

_Well, isn’t he courteous?_

“Do you want some strawberries?” She asked with a smile before pausing, “Oh— but you would rather go to sleep, right?”

“Ah, actually I sleep later than this.”

“Really?” Hange cheerfully exclaimed, “If that is so, I think I could use a companion. Do you mind?”

Moblit looked uneasy by her offer but he slowly sighed in defeat.

_No one could say no to her._

He approached her and sat beside her, grabbing one strawberry from her. Hange had to stifle a laugh at Moblit’s attempt to only look at her face.

Before Hange could open the conversation, Moblit already spoke his mind.

“Listen, you shouldn’t be doing this, Miss Hange. What if Mrs. Koch found out about this? You will not be saved from her wrath. If your portion wasn’t enough, you should tell her, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind adding extra food into yours. Or maybe you should learn to take a rest and conserve your energy. Sometimes, you just run around way too much, no wonder you’d be starving in the middle of the night. Moreover—”

Hange erupted into another laugh, and it earned her a concerned look from Moblit. He probably thought that she finally lost her mind.

“Nifa is right, you sure are a mom.” Hange said before taking another bite from her apple.

Moblit gasped and protested, “I’m not!”

“You are!” Hange hummed a tune, “And that’s why I like you, Moblit. You are just all around an honest and nice person.”

“Huh?” He stammered as he stared at her with mouth wide agaped, obviously didn’t see that one coming. “Uhm… Thank you…”

“You’re welcome! Oh, and don’t you worry Moblit. I’ve done this before and I’ve never been found. — Well, you broke that record, though.”

“What?! So that was you? We thought there were rats around here.”

Hange smiled, “Not entirely wrong, I identified myself as a rat.”

Moblit were gawking at her before finally cracked a laugh, “You reminded me of my brother.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he used to steal food from the kitchen in the middle of the night.”

Hange snickered, “I think I might get along well with him.”

“Probably.” He smiled. “When we caught him red-handed, he said that he was just guarding the food from the rats. Of course my Mother and Father didn’t believe him. So, instead of punishing him, they fabricated a story about some ghost living inside our kitchen. He stopped after that.”

Hange laughed, “Ghost story, huh?”

“Yeah, but the bad news is, it didn’t only scare him, we all nine got scared in the end.” Moblit shuddered at the memory.

She marveled, “Oh, that’s cute.”

Moblit frowned and shook his head, “Not cute at all.”

Hange wanted to tease him but then a thought came to her mind.

“Speaking of ghost,” Hange spoke in a low tone, “How about this manor?”

“Huh?” Moblit shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“You know, with this manor being old and all, I’m sure there’s a story, or maybe two.”

“I— Uhm… I don’t know about such things.” He answered, voice cracked, he looked anywhere but her.

“Really?”

“Uh, yeah!” He tried to answer with a high voice.

“You are not looking at me,” Hange smiled triumphantly, “I know you are lying.”

Moblit immediately stared back at her with a serious face, “What if you got scared, Miss?”

Hange snorted as she waved a hand, “No, I will not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Hange nodded as she chewed on her apple.

_Like, how scary it could be?_

_Most ghost stories are just some cheap nonsense, anyway._

_It was probably something that could be easily explained by logic._

Moblit let out a long sigh before glancing around, then he whispered, “There’s a story you know… about a woman with long hair walking through the manor… in the middle of the night.”

_Ah, classic._

“Really? Have people seen it?”

Moblit nodded his head, “Yes, a lot of people have seen it. Even Mr. Levi himself.” He answered with a serious expression.

_Oh._

Suddenly, she felt a chill running through her spine, the room felt colder than before.

_She thought that it may be because she wore thin clothes._

Moblit continued, “Around three or two years ago, a new maid forgot if she had put out a fire in the drawing room. So, she went to the drawing room in the middle of the night to check on the fireplace. When she walked across the great hall, she heard someone upstairs, so she looked up and saw someone walking near the railing of the left wing. She tried to call the figure but it didn’t seem like the person heard her.”

Hange could feel the rising beat of her heart.

“The only person who lived in the left wing is Miss Mikasa, so the maid thought that it was her. But, when she was asked about it, she said it wasn’t her. She said that she didn’t wake up at all during the night.”

_Wait, that’s not possible right?_

“Not only that, there’s also a report of screaming and crying sounds coming from the left wing.” Moblit added.

Hange stared at Moblit with wide eyes, “Is that why Nifa slept in the same bedroom as Mikasa?”

Moblit nodded.

“How did I not hear about any of this?”

Moblit looked hesitant, “Well, it’s not something we like to talk about…”

“And why is that?”

Moblit paused and glanced away before finally looking at her, “Because some believed that it was the late Mrs. Ackerman.”

Hange peeked at the mention of the name, “Who?”

“Mrs. Ackerman.” Moblit repeated, “You’ve seen her plenty of time, Miss Hange. Her picture was hung in the drawing room.”

Hange mouth went agape as she remembered the familiar painting that seated right on top of the fireplace.

The picture of a woman with white flower crown.

Hange gasped as she felt goosebump all over her body.

“Who was she?” She quickly asked.

“She was Mr. Levi’s mother.”

Then, something clicked within Hange.

_So, that’s why he looked so familiar the first time she met him._

He looked exactly like the woman in the painting.

“They believed it was Mrs. Ackerman because she died inside her own chamber, which was in the left wing.” Moblit continued.

“Oh, I see...”

Then, there was silence.

The only thing that Hange could hear was her own mind speaking to itself.

Have you ever felt like you were so sure that you knew how things will go, only to find out that you actually didn’t know.

Yeah.

She had.

And this is one of them.

Suddenly, Hange stood up and quickly finished her apple. She threw the scrape into the wastebasket.

Moblit got startled by the sudden movement, “Miss Hange—”

“Whoa! I think I’m full, you can have the rest of the strawberries, Moblit. Now, if you’ll excuse me— Oh, can I ask for some of your light,” Without waiting for his response, she used Moblit’s own candle to lighten up her own.

“Uhm… Do you want me to walk yo— ”

“What? Oh! No, no! Thank you, Moblit,” She replied with a laugh that probably sounded so fake. “Well then, good night!” She said before storming out from the kitchen, ignoring whatever thing Moblit tried to say to her.

She ran through the dining room before arriving at the great hall. She felt like every part of her body became so heavy

Her heart felt like it wanted to jump from her.

She took a fast paced walk up toward the grand staircase before stopping at the junction that connected the right and left staircase. Slowly, she glanced to her left, toward the dark stairs that led to the hallway of the left wing.

. . .

. . .

. . .

_Moblit must be joking, he just wanted to take revenge on her._

. . .

_There’s no way there’s a ghost in here._

. . .

. . .

. . .

_Right?_

. . .

Hange bolted as she ascended the right stairs, running through the hallway and hurriedly opened her door before slamming it behind her. Her chest rising up and down from the adrenaline.

She shook her head.

_No, she must be imagining things. It’s common right to be afraid after hearing some scary story?_

_Yeah! She would probably forget it by tomorrow._

_Yeah!_

She scanned her dimly-lit bedroom before quickly turning all the oil lamps in the room.

In less than a minute, her room became bright with the yellowish tint from the oil lamps. After scanning her room again, she started to walk toward her bedside table to drink a full glass of water.

She sat on the corner of her bed, trying to even out her breathing and to calm her heart.

_Well, let’s go to sleep._

* * *

“Hange, are you okay?”

Hange jolted when she heard a familiar deep voice of a man. She looked at the owner of said voice, there was concern painted on his face.

“Yeah… I’m okay, Erwin. I mean, why wouldn’t I?” She said, forcing a bright smile on her face.

Erwin raised an eyebrow, “You sure?”

She nodded even though she was —actually— not sure.

Truthfully, she felt like she wanted to throw up.

She couldn’t sleep at all.

She probably looked like she was on the verge of death.

“Okay,” He doesn’t look convinced at all. “But so you know, if you need anything, just telegram me.” Erwin said with a soft smile, in which Hange replied with a tight hug.

“Come back again soon, Erwin.” She told him as she loosened the hug.

“I will,” Erwin patted her shoulder before walking toward a carriage. Her lovely employer could be seen sitting inside the carriage, grunting something under his breath as Erwin approached them. Probably alongside the line of _‘I don’t have much time, Erwin.’_

Meanwhile Erwin just smiled apologetically as he went inside the carriage. Erwin waved at her as the carriage started to walk away.

“SEE YOU LATER, ERWIN!” Screamed Hange with every last energy that she had as she waved her hand up above her head with much vigor.

She watched over them until they disappeared from her sight and from the manor.

When Hange turned back to face the manor, she immediately sighed. The manor looked so big today, and it suddenly made her feel so small.

Not to mention that she was completely alone today.

Not alone per se, but her usual companions, that are Mikasa and Nifa, were currently away to do some shopping in the city.

They actually asked her to join them, but there’s no way she could survive walking through the city in this condition.

Meanwhile, the other servants were busy with their job and some were out on their off day.

While for Moblit, Hange just couldn’t face him after the event of hours ago.

So, she’s pretty much alone.

Should she take a nap?

No! Imagining herself tucked away alone inside her room wasn’t something she wanted right now.

She walked inside the manor and stopped in front of a door in the great hall.

_Library._

Ah, she could prepare the material for Mikasa’s study next week.

_Yes, that could do._

She went inside and saw a big library that was filled with so many wood shelves, tables, chairs, and even couches. She immediately recognized the characteristic smell of decaying books, her favorite smell. She felt relaxed as she took a deep breath and drank the sight of earthy tones that plastered the whole room.

For the past three months, she had been trying so hard to keep herself from spending too much time in the library, because she knew once she was in, it would be hard to get out.

And it would definitely make her neglect her job.

So, she had promised herself that if it wasn’t for Mikasa, she would not go to the library.

But, right now. She just wanted to drown herself with books.

_Just for this time, Hange. There’ll be no more after this._

With great determination, she went to walk to one shelf that she had been wanting to see. She ran her hand through the books, scanning for any interesting books. Unfortunately, all of the books were interesting.

_One, Hange! One._

_One._

In the end, she grabbed ten books.

_Let’s just do some skimming, fast one, no worries._

She sat at the chair near the window, with the view of the front yard. She opened up a book titled Flora: Nature’s Wonders and she was pleasantly surprised that it was filled with so many illustrations and descriptions of plants and flowers that she hadn’t seen before.

As she read the book, she imagined herself sitting in a big room filled with many people. At the front of the room, stood a man, probably middle age, stroking his white beard as he spoke about the content of the book to the whole room.

She would sit at the front, taking notes at everything the old man told and wrote on the blackboard.

_That would be so nice._

She read pages after pages before slowly feeling her eyes became heavier. She pushes the book away before settling her head to the table, pillowed by her hands.

_So nice._

* * *

A carriage arrived at the manor, and a familiar figure emerged from inside.

It was in the middle of the day, almost time for lunch. He let out a long sigh as he walked toward the door. The door was opened by Abel.

After he let himself out from all of his outerwear and thanked Abel for helping him, he went inside the great hall. He walked straight toward his study, but halted when he saw that the library doors were partially opened.

He went closer as he wanted to close said door, but then he caught a figure of someone inside. The person was surrounded by many books that were on the tables.

_Seriously, it’s that woman again?_

He wanted to leave her be, but his legs seemed to have the mind of their own.

Slowly, he approached her slouching figure.

_That position will definitely give her pain._

He stopped and stood near her. His grey eyes glanced at the only book that opened.

_She’s into this kind of thing, huh?_

He glanced again at the figure and saw that she was smiling.

He was reminded again by the event of that morning.

The event where she caught him staring at her while she was playing piano.

The event where he saw her smiling so brightly at him, no, at his direction.

_Even in her sleep, she still likes to smile._

He traced his gaze from her brown hair, to her closed eyes, to her thick curly eyelashes, to her circular glasses, to her sharp hooked nose, and to her pink lips.

He returned his gaze to her glasses.

_She really needs to be more careful with her glasses._

Slowly, he took away her glasses from her face and folded it before safely putting it on the table.

During that time, he didn’t take his gaze from her.

And he probably never did that.

He never took his gaze from her.

_Ever since that day._

With the same hand, he moved to the direction of her hair.

_Her hair._

He hovered over her hair.

_Her warm chocolate hair._

But then, he stopped.

He retracted his hand away.

He stared at her again before turning away.

Away from the library.

Away from her.

_She definitely will be the death of him._

* * *

Hange abruptly opened her eyes and stood up straight in her seat. She felt a sudden tap on her shoulder, and she looked to see a blurry figure standing near her.

She narrowed her eyes before gasping.

“Abel!”

He told her that it’s time for lunch.

_Oh! She must have fallen asleep._

Hange nodded and thanked him. She searched for her glasses and found it tucked near the stack of books.

_Hm?_

She didn’t remember that she took off her glasses.

Ah, nevermind, she’s hungry.

She stood up and felt a pang of pain alongside her back.

_Ouch! Bad sleeping position._

She stretched before hurriedly stacked the books on the edge of the table, thinking that she will return to her activity later. After that, she followed after Abel as they walked toward the servants’ hall.

Ever since she came here, Hange would eat with the servants every time she couldn’t eat with Mikasa.

The servants were surprised when she told them that she wanted to dine with them. Well, of course they were, because clearly governess have higher status than the servants.

Hange nonchalantly said that she just hates eating alone.

Which was true.

During her previous employment, she would always eat alone in her room. Away from the servants that despised her and away from her employer that saw her as merely a worker.

Then again, it was something you’d get when you work as a governess.

Governess was deemed too high to dine with the servants but too low to dine with the family.

For Hange, being a governess was like walking on a tightrope.

You have to stay balanced.

You have to stay where you are.

Alone on top of your rope.

That’s why Hange was grateful to be able to work here.

She didn’t have to walk on the tightrope.

_Because, it was never here to begin with._

When Hange was greeted by cheers and warm smiles as she arrived at the familiar long table of the servants’ hall, the only thing she could think of was:

_“I'm so lucky.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS ONE OF MY FAV CHAPTERS ;) I hope you like it as much as I do, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.  
> Fun fact: this fanfiction was planned to be a 5 chapter long, but hey look at us, 6 chapter in HAHA
> 
> P.S I'm on tumblr (spilledsinnamontea), so if you want to say hi ;) hmu  
> P.S.S First day of class :(((


	7. Levi Ackerman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa received letters from her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took longer to publish because:  
> 1) I was not happy with the first version, SO I rewrote it a bunch of time HAHA.  
> 2) f u n student stuff.
> 
> _ANYWAY_  
>  *grab mic* THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT, it really means a lot to me!! TRULY!  
> Thank you for the comments, the kudos, the subscription! I love you guys <3 Even to y'all mysterious reader!
> 
> So, without further ado, chapter seven :D *drop mic*
> 
> **DISCLAIMER:**  
>  Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama

Mikasa woke up on a bright Friday morning from the half-screaming Nifa who told her that her dresses had arrived from the shop. Nifa was ecstatic when she helped Mikasa get ready in the morning, and Mikasa couldn’t help but smile at Nifa’s reaction.

The dresses sure are beautiful, especially the one she’ll be wearing today, but, a dress is just a dress. It probably won’t change much of her appearance.

_Right?_

_Wrong._

As she stared at her reflection, she was at a loss for words. There she stood, wearing a short sleeves pink frilly dress that poofed at the skirt, stopping just below the knees. Her long black hair was half tied with a matching pink bow.

She almost didn’t recognize the girl that she saw in the reflection, _almost._

Because, the next thing that she thought was, _“Finally.”_

Mikasa found herself walking out from her bedroom with a really huge smile on her face. She felt so light and brave today, a mix of feelings that were quite foreign to her. There was also an anticipation building inside of her as she nearly arrived at the dining room. She really wanted to see Hange’s reaction.

“Good mor— OH MY GOD! MIKASA? You look wonderful!”

Mikasa heard a shriek of happiness coming from her governess as soon as she stepped into the room.

Certainly, her reaction was not a disappointment.

She smiled shyly as she touched her dress, twirling it a little bit, “Do you think so?”

Mikasa could see twinkles forming on Hange’s eyes, “Obviously! You are always beautiful Mikasa, but today… I’m speechless.”

Mikasa could only nod and murmured, “Thank you,” as she felt her face heating up from her compliment.

Now that she had seen Hange’s reaction, she wondered what Levi's reaction would be.

He would probably stare at her and say nothing.

But still, she couldn’t wait until he sees her tomorrow.

After a few minutes of Hange gleefully admiring the new dress, Mikasa and Hange sat on their usual chairs, plates of food already laid on top of the table.

When Mikasa wanted to grab her spoon, her eyes immediately caught a tray that was placed next to her. A big smile grew on her as she took two letters from the tray.

“Oh, are those letters from Eren and Armin?” Hange asked as she spooned her porridge into her mouth.

Mikasa nodded as she opened one of the letters. As soon as she saw the neat handwriting of Armin, she couldn’t contain her excitement to read it.

She loves reading Armin’s letter because he always told her in detail about anything that happened in Shiganshina. So, everytime she reads Armin’s letters, it almost feels like she is back in Shiganshina.

She immediately drowned into each and every word that was on the letter before being interrupted by a voice.

“Mikasa,” Hange suddenly called, “Your food will become cold.”

“Oh right, I’m sorry.” She said as she put the letters away and hurriedly finished her meals, almost too fast, because she choked in the process.

“Woah, slow down, Mikasa.” Hange reminded with a small laugh while giving her a glass of water, “You still have time before your study, you know.”

Mikasa smiled sheepishly after drinking some water to clear her throat, “I know, I just got too excited.”

“Believe me, I know that feeling!” Hange said with a chuckle before whispering, “But still, you don’t want to summon the wreath out of Moblit or Mrs. Koch.”

Mikasa laughed and nodded in understanding, she proceeded to continue eating her breakfast. Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the two letters that were lying next to her. So much so that she couldn’t pay full attention to Hange’s story about some new leaves that she added to her dried plant collection.

After finishing her meals —which was still faster than usual— she excused herself from the dining room, leaving Hange by herself.

_She owes an apology, no, two apologies to her._

She went to the library to read the rest of the letters. She took a seat on the big circular table that was in the middle of the room.

She reopened Armin’s letter to continue where she left off. Armin told her about the Shiganshina annual summer festival that happened last week. Mikasa had been to one before, she visited it with her parents, and it was one of her favorite memories of them.

_She sure hopes she could visit it again._

Other than that, Armin also told her about the book he’s currently reading about, about his parents, and of course, about Eren’s usual antics.

After she finished reading Armin’s letter, she went on to open another one.

Mikasa smiled as she saw the familiar chicken scratch of handwriting, there’s blotches of ink here and there. Average people would normally give up after seeing it, but fortunately, because she had read a lot of Eren’s letters, she already knew by heart how to read his _peculiar_ writings.

Unlike Armin’s detailed and comprehensive letter, Eren’s letter was shorter with topics that were all over the place.

For example, he would talk about his mom in one paragraph before abruptly ending it to talk about the fight he had with the local bullies.

But, that just Eren being Eren.

“We meet again, fellow who left me alone at the breakfast table.”

Mikasa turned around to the entrance of the library and saw Hange standing there.

Mikasa answered with a laugh.

“Alright, don’t mind me, I’ll just take some books for us later. Enjoy your time.” Hange said before disappearing into the tall aisles of book shelves.

It didn’t take her a long time to read Eren’s letter. As soon as she was finished, Mikasa went to a cabinet and grabbed some blank papers, empty envelopes, a pen, and a bottle of ink.

She put all of those things on the table and began to write her letter. After dipping the pen to the black ink, her hand started to glide on the surface of the paper to write her reply for Eren.

She cheerfully hummed some tunes as she told Eren about her days, especially about her new dresses.

Oh! She would totally tell Armin about it too.

Actually, there’s a lot of things that she wanted to tell them and luckily, Mikasa loves writing it down for them.

_But, it would be a lot better if she could tell it directly to them._

“We’ll start the lesson in fifteen minutes, Mikasa.”

Without looking at the owner of the voice, she knew whose voice it belonged to. The voice was soon followed by a sound of a chair adjacent to her being moved and a sound of something heavy being put on the table.

“Okay.” She replied, eyes still glued to the paper as she finished her writing.

After she was done with Eren’s letter, she moved to write her reply for Armin.

Other than telling them about her new dresses, she also told them about her days, about the people she interacts with, and about everything they asked her, which were mostly about Trost and about the manor she’s living in.

The problem is, Mikasa isn’t really good with words, so in the end, she will always say:

_“I just hope you could see it in person.”_

“Mikasa, it’s time now.” She heard Hange talk again.

“Wait! Another five minutes, please!” Mikasa quickly replied, increasing the speed of her pen.

Hange chuckled, “Alright, five minutes it is.”

At exactly five minutes later, Mikasa was done with her replies. She folded and put the papers into two envelopes before looking at the person next to her.

“Hange, can you help me?” She asked, raising her letters for Hange to see.

Hange looked up from her book and nodded, “Sure.”

Mikasa went back to the cabinet to grab a small wooden box and gave it to Hange before returning to her seat. Hange opened the wooden box and grabbed a stick of deep red wax. She lit the wick of the wax and soon the wax started to melt from the heat. She let it slowly drip onto the back of the envelope.

Mikasa stole a glance at Hange who was smiling peacefully at the task at hand.

“I had told them about you.” Mikasa suddenly said.

Hange took a quick look at her and smiled, “Really? What did you say about me?”

“A lot of things,” Mikasa answered, “They said that they want to meet you.”

“In a good way, I hope.”

“It is. They like you.” Mikasa replied while looking at Hange warmly.

Hange seemed to be taken back by her remark.

“That’s so sweet, Mikasa. I also want to meet them.” She looked at Mikasa with awe before blowing the fire from the wax. She grabbed a stamp seal from the box and pressed it on the melted wax. When she lifted the stamp, it revealed a beautiful embossed monogram of two intertwined alphabets, that is A and M.

She took another letter and began to lit the wax again. But then she stopped and asked her, “Do you want to try? I think it’s time for you to learn how to do it, right?”

_Right._

She hesitantly nodded.

Hange lit the wax again and carefully handed it to Mikasa.

“Even though it felt like holding a candle, you still have to be careful.” Hange told her and guided Mikasa, telling her to always rotate the stick so the wax melted evenly around.

Mikasa was fascinated to see how the fire slowly melted the wax that it touched. Oddly, it calmed her. So much so that she just spoke whatever thing that came to her mind.

“Eren and Armin,” Mikasa muttered, “It’s been two years since the last time I saw them.”

“Really?” Hange smiled, “No wonder you were always so excited whenever you received their letters.”

Mikasa nodded, her mind was slowly flooded by the memories of two years ago.

“Why didn’t you visit them, then?” Hange asked.

“Levi is busy. I couldn’t just ask him to accompany me to Shiganshina.” She answered nonchalantly.

“But, why couldn’t you?

Mikasa sighed, “Truthfully, It’s not that _I couldn’t_ ask him, I could actually. But, I chose not to, because I know that he won’t refuse.”

Hange furrowed her brows, “Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?”

“It’s a good thing.” Mikasa paused, “I just don’t want to take his precious time.”

Hange nodded before suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, it’s enough Mikasa, blow it!” She pointed at her wax.

Mikasa quickly blew the fire out, creating a trail of smoke from the burnt wick. Soon after, Hange instructed her to immediately put the seal on the puddle of melted wax. Mikasa did as she was told and waited for the wax to set before slowly peeling the seal away, revealing the same embossed monogram as before.

“Good job Mikasa!” Hange clapped with a bright smile, “You did amazing on your first try!”

Mikasa stared proudly at her sealed letters, slowly tracing her index finger to the dried wax.

“Do you know what that monogram stands for?” Hange suddenly asked.

Mikasa took a glance at Hange and furrowed her brows before looking back again at the dried wax, “It stands for Ackerman.”

“Exactly! Your family name. The name that you share with your cousin.”

Mikasa could only gave Hange a slow nod that _definitely_ didn’t show that she understands her, especially when combined with how she stared at Hange with raised eyebrows.

“Mikasa.” She suddenly called her with a soft deep voice, shifting the whole room’s atmosphere, “You are his family, probably the only family he has left… I’m sure he wouldn’t mind doing anything for you.”

Mikasa felt something stuck on her throat, she couldn’t speak, more precisely, she couldn’t even think.

Hange let out a chuckle before smiling, “Let me ask you. Do you like your new dress, Mikasa?”

Mikasa narrowed her eyes at Hange, “Yes, I do.”

“I see. Who bought it?”

“... Levi?” She answered but from the way she spoke it, the answer came out more like a question.

“Alright, then why do you think he bought it for you?”

“Well, because I ask him to.” Mikasa stated it like it was obvious.

“That’s true.” Hange laughed, “Now, last question, with whom did you go dress shopping with?”

Mikasa genuinely didn’t understand her, but she answered anyway.

“Levi…” Came her short reply.

“Yes!” Hange nodded in glee, “I know you might think that he bought you that dress because you ask him and he had to —which was true, I agree— but, think about it, he didn’t have to accompany you to the shop too, right? And yet, he did that.”

Mikasa felt like she was struck by something. The memories of the trip she had with her cousin last week resurfaced on her mind. Back then, Mikasa was supposed to go to the shop with Nifa, but one day she was told by Mr. Moblit that Levi would be the one that accompanied her. It confused her, but she didn’t really give it much thought, until now...

A small smile started to bloom on her face.

“Let me tell you a secret” Hange leaned down to her level and whispered, “I don’t like your cousin very much. But, I know that he would do anything for you. I mean, even I can see that.”

Mikasa chuckled, “That's a high praise, especially when it comes from you.”

“I know!” She answered excitedly, “That’s why you shouldn’t be afraid of him.”

Mikasa nodded with a small smile, “I guess I’ll try.”

“Oh wait!” Hange suddenly exclaimed, “Mikasa, imagined if you didn’t bother to write for Eren or Armin, do you think you could care for them this much?”

Mikasa blinked and opened her mouth but then she closed it again.

. . .

“No.” Mikasa finally answered.

“Exactly!” Hange cheered, “Communication is a key. There’s a lot of things you can unlock with it, even the cold stone heart of your cousin.”

Mikasa stared blankly at her.

“Don't you think he encourages you to do it?”

Levi’s voice came to her mind.

_“Hey you, brat. I can’t read your freaking mind. If you need anything, just tell me. I don’t want you to curse me in your sleep because you think I’m neglecting you.”_

Mikasa scoffed. He really had to ruin it with his sarcasm.

“— And don’t you also think that he tries to do the same to you?”

Mikasa shuddered at the memory of her choking and coughing every Sunday Morning.

_Yes, he definitely is._

“I thought you already knew about this Mikasa.” Hange added, “Nifa told me that you were actually the one who asked for your dress, right?”

“Oh…” Mikasa went into thinking, “I’m not quite sure… Maybe, because I thought that dress is something that I urgently need, I could find the bravery to ask him. But, on the other hand, meeting Armin and Eren is something that I merely want for myself, so it was only my selfish wish. That’s why I don’t think it’s something that I can ask him.”

“I see,” Hange nodded, “I don’t agree though, I don’t think it’s a selfish request. Wanting to meet someone that you haven’t seen in a long time is a very common thing, Mikasa. Missing someone could do a lot of things to someone, after all.”

Mikasa widened her eyes.

“I’m sure he will understand that.” Hange added with a smile.

Mikasa blinked a few times before finally letting out a happy sigh, she shifted her attention to the warm eyes of her governess.

_Hange really knows her way with words._

“Do you know Hange, when I lost my parents, I was so scared that I’ll live in the street. Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger took me into their house, and that’s where I met Eren and Armin. They were so kind to me and I loved them so much, so much so that I hoped that I could live with them forever.”

Mikasa was filled with warm emotions as she recounted her life with the Jaegers and her friendship with Eren and Armin before slowly realizing that she had arrived at the worst part of the story.

“But, a month later, the authority came and told me that they managed to get in touch with my distant cousin. I was informed that my cousin wanted to become my guardian and invited me to live with him. The authority said that I should be happy that my cousin is a rich gentleman— but, I didn’t really care about that, because to me, he was just a stranger.”

Mikasa paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

“A few days later, he came to Shiganshina with Mr. Smith and Mr. Zacharias. He didn’t say much other than telling me his name. Mr. Smith was the one who did all the talking to the authority, to the Jaegers, and even to me. After that, I couldn’t remember anything. The only thing I could remember was the feeling that I felt when I stepped into this manor… it was terrifying. Everything felt so big and scary. Even when Levi was around, it still felt empty and lonely because he’s always so distant and cold. I couldn’t even talk to him without feeling awkward or hesitant. There was a time where I dreaded my existence in this place… ”

Mikasa could hear her voice starting to get hoarse by each sentence, she had to bite her mouth before being able to speak again. She could feel the encouraging look that Hange threw on her way.

“Luckily, during those two years, I have Nifa and Mr. Moblit who took really good care of me. There are also letters from Eren and Armin that really helped me get through everything…” Mikasa said before warmly looking at Hange, “Then, there’s also you.”

Hange’s eyes and mouth curled into a smile.

“And lately... Levi, I guess,” Mikasa added in a mocking tone, although she couldn’t stop a warm chuckle from coming out. “When you put it that way, I think I may be too harsh on him.”

“I don’t know Mikasa,” Hange shrugged with a smirk, “With how he treated you before, your ill intentions were understandable.”

Mikasa laughed.

Levi is the most uptight-no-fun person she has ever seen, but today she learned that he’s actually not so bad after all.

_Or maybe he wasn’t like what she thought he was._

_Maybe she just didn’t understand him._

_Maybe he also didn’t understand her._

_And it took them two years to realize this._

Mikasa sighed and smiled.

“I never thought you would stand for him, Hange.” Mikasa commented.

“Me too,” Hange nodded, “I still hate him, though.”

Mikasa nudged Hange in the ribs.

“Wait— Ouch! That’s actually hurt. You sure are strong Mikasa.” Hange exclaimed as she rubbed the place that Mikasa just attacked.

Hange protested by saying a line of giving her a lot of homeworks.

She didn’t respond to that, instead she looked softly at her, “Thank you, Hange.” Mikasa whispered with a small smile.

Hange’s playful frown slowly melted into a soft smile, “Thank you too, Mikasa.”

* * *

“Are you feeling alright, Miss?”

Mikasa plopped down onto her bed, wearing her flowy white nightdress, “Yes I am, Nifa.” She said to the figure that stood near her.

“Do you need anything?” Nifa asked again.

“No.”

“Are you tired?”

“A little, but I’m fine.”

“How about the bed, is it comfortable?”

“Yes, Nifa.”

Nifa paused before asking her again, “Are you sure you don’t need something?”

Mikasa chuckled as she tucked herself into her blanket,, “Yes, I’m good Nifa. You don’t have to ask me that every night.”

Nifa smiled, “I just want to make sure that you’ll have a good night's sleep.”

Mikasa grabbed Nifa’s hand, “With you by my side, I know I will.”

“Awww, Miss.” Nifa uttered with glittering eyes, “Don’t do that or I might cry.”

Mikasa gave Nifa a small smile, “It’s okay. I’ll be here, like what you would always do to me Nifa.”

“Miss!!!” Nifa exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

“Alright! I’m sorry Nifa,” Mikasa smiled apologetically, “Let’s change the topic.”

Nifa dried out her tears before letting out a small laugh, “No change of topic, Miss. You should really go to sleep.”

Mikasa pouted, her gaze following after Nifa who stood up from her position and started to turn off all of the oil lamps from the chamber.

“Hey, Nifa. Would you be surprised if Levi and Hange got married?” Mikasa suddenly asked and it made Nifa shriek and almost dropped one lamp.

“Uhm...What’s with the question, Miss?” Nifa answered, voice cracked and almost inaudible.

“I’m just asking,” Mikasa said nonchalantly, “Because for me, I think I won’t be surprised if that happened.”

“Really? How are you so sure?”

“I’m just relying on my intuition.” Mikasa answered with a shrug.

Nifa let out a small laugh, “I couldn’t imagine them falling for each other.”

Mikasa smiled, “Nobody knows, Nifa.”

“Well, I guess we'll just have to wait, then.”

Mikasa wanted to laugh but it was interrupted by a yawn.

“Well then, it’s a cue for you to sleep, Miss.” She said as she turned off the last lamp, leaving the room with only the light was the moonlight that seeped from the thin curtains of the windows.

Mikasa nodded, feeling her eyes start to drift down. “Let’s just hope the ghost won't be here tonight.” She murmured as she snuggled onto her pillow.

Nifa chuckled, “Yeah, I hope so.”

* * *

Hange paused the movement of her pen to let out a sneeze before resuming her writings. She took a quick glance at her small clock and saw that it was almost midnight and she still hadn't changed from her dress.

_Growl._

She grunted, “Oh God, not again.”

Hange shook her head and continued to write, but then...

_Growl._

She sighed and banged her head on the top of her table, she didn’t seem to mind that the still-wet-ink on the paper would transfer to her face. She groaned and hugged her stomach.

_Ugh, stupid ghost in the left wing._

Hange repeatedly bangs her head on the table before finally stopping when she almost knocked her opened ink bottle down. She sat up and saw her unfinished letter that she already lost the intention to continue. Hange stood up from her seat and made her way to her bed, slowly making sure not stepping on any books that were scattered on the floor.

When she came in contact with her bed, she let herself fall face down to the soft cushion. Another groan left her..

_Maybe, if she thinks about something, she'll forget about feeling hungry._

So, Hange started to think about what just happened today.

_Oh._

She remembered her conversation with Mikasa that morning and she felt herself cringe.

“I shouldn’t have said all of that… That was so embarrassing, talking about her cousin like that… Learn to control your mouth, Hange!” She nagged herself while also silently wishing for the bed to eat her up.

But then a realization hit her.

_Since when she talked about him like that, like he was… nice?_

_Well, he was never evil to begin with, that’s for sure..._

_Wait, she did notice something._

_He has this different atmosphere that surrounds him lately._

_Not sure when it started, but she knew it felt different._

_More warmer…_

_More softer…_

_More—_

Hange gasped and closed her eyes when she started to see him begin to conjure up in her mind. She quickly shook her head and stood herself up. Maybe too fast because she almost fell on her back from the sudden rush of blood to her head.

But then, the blood didn’t stop there. It continued to rush throughout her face, making her feel hot.

Hange took off her glasses and sat on the edge of her bed, because her heart started beating fast against her chest.

She began to feel uncomfortable with the light inside her chamber, so she started to turn off all of her lamps. She was left in the dark of the room.

Hange went back to her bed and lay on top of it, hugging her pillow to hide her face.

She couldn’t find the energy to get out of her clothing, she felt drained, tired, and hot.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and drifted down to sleep.

_At least her hunger was finally gone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough* chp 138 *cough*
> 
> MOVING ON,  
> Thank you for reading this chapter guys! This is honestly another hard chapter to write, but I survived!  
> I hope you enjoy it!  
> Thank you for your patience, see you!


	8. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Series of unfortunate events surrounding rain, umbrella, and carriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peek* Uhm yeah hello, sorry this took so long :') 
> 
> Before that, I want to say thank you for all of your amazing support to this story! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE KUDOS, COMMENTS, AND EVERYTHING. Like, I love y'all so much. I'm so grateful that I could share my LeviHan journey with all of you guys :')
> 
> ANYWHO, HERE YOU GO, CHAPTER 8!!  
> Happy reading! 
> 
> **DISCLAIMER:**  
>  Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama

_Rain._

Hange loves rain.

She loves how the sound of droplets of water pattering against the windows and the sound of clouds colliding and rumbling against each other are able to make her feel relaxed and secured.

Even in a storm with loud thunder and bright lightning.

She believes that the world would be renewed after the rain. Be it the ground, the plants, the body of water, and even the sky. It feels as if the rain cleaned out the impurities out of the earth.

Not to mention that the sky would burst with seven colors of wonders everytime the rain stopped, celebrating the blessing that the rain had brought or celebrating that the rain had passed.

So, what more can you not love from rain?

_Hange loves rain._

Except when she had to walk in the rain with no umbrella.

Truthfully, this wasn’t that bad. It gave her a sense of nostalgia from the time where she used to play in the rain, which was quite a long time ago.

But then, she would prefer to relive her nostalgia with at least a bit more of _dignity._

_Yes._

Let’s step back a bit, shall we?

Hange woke up to a bright and sunny July’s morning after days of rain. Thus, she intended to visit an optician to replace her lenses, a task that she procrastinated for quite a while.

She didn’t notice how bad her vision had got until she couldn’t differentiate Moblit and Abel from afar.

So, she went to the city while Mikasa had her daily nap.

Usually, Moblit would always remind her to take an umbrella everytime she goes out, saying that it never hurts to be prepared during this season.

_He’s right, of course._

Unfortunately, Hange being the way she is, will either forget to bring the umbrella or will choose to not bring the umbrella at all.

For today’s case, it was the latter. Hange was certain that it would not be raining today.

That was her first mistake, because, as soon as she arrived at the optician, a big storm immediately hit the town.

Luckily, she was able to take shelter inside the shop. Not only that, she also got the chance to have a long chat with the lovely optician that reminded her a lot of her late grandfather. So, she spent an hour talking with the optician while waiting for the rain to stop.

Then, after the rain had stopped, Hange decided to bid her goodbye and went back on her way to the manor. The optician offered to lend Hange his umbrella, but Hange refused, saying that the sky should have enough rain for one day.

That was her second mistake.

Five minutes into her walk, she felt a droplet of water hit her face.

Two droplets.

Three droplets.

Then, it was raining, but not the kind of drizzle one that slowly increased into a big one. No, it was raining heavily right from the start.

She immediately ran toward a nearby shop and stood under the canopy. She debated on asking for a shelter inside the shop, which turned out to be a shoemaker shop, but looking at how grim the shop was and how scary the shopkeeper was, she decided to stay outside.

Unsurprisingly, that was her third mistake.

Hange was minding her own business in the cramped little space under the canopy when suddenly a carriage went in front of her at full speed.

It’s not like she got hit by it, no, she’s still pretty much alive.

The thing is, the carriage went with a full speed on a concrete road that was filled with puddles of rain water.

Hange couldn’t think of anything when she got splashed by water.

And, it was not a shy and playful kind of splash.

It was a kind of splash that could kill.

She could only scream.

The carriage didn’t seem to care though. If any, she only gained people attention.

_“Would you look at that?”_ is probably what they thought as they walked with their umbrella, as if mocking her. She couldn’t blame them though, she would also laugh at her.

A screaming lady drenched in a wet dress is probably something they’d never imagine would see in town.

Hange sighed.

After contemplating her life choice up until that point, she decided to do something that any sane person would do, and that is to walk in the rain.

_Yes._

_Well, might as well go for it._

It didn’t take long until her whole body became wet and heavy from the rain water. She ignored the look she got from everyone, and chose to take confident and steady steps toward the manor.

But then, she forgot that the road toward the manor was not full on concrete. She had to walk through the soil of the forest to get there, and if she learned anything from school, soil mixed with water will create mud.

_Great._

So here she was, walking in the rain while trying to make through the muddy road. Her straw hat was wet and on the edge of breaking down, her boots were sticky with mud, and her dress was wet, dirty, and heavy.

Fortunately, the rain had gradually gone away, leaving only small drops of water.

Unfortunately, the lack of pouring rain water made her able to feel the breeze that ran past her. She started to shiver, she hugged herself while trying to rub back warmness into her.

At the time of this, she could only think about one person, Moblit.

Hange chuckled as she imagined how hysteric Moblit will be when he found out about this. No, he was already screaming right now, she could feel it. He will definitely nag her for not listening to him. Not only him, everyone will, especially the poor maids who have to clean after her.

But first, she had to make sure she arrived at her destination.

She continued her journey which was still halfway through. She couldn’t wait until she could be out of this sticky and damp situation. But, each of her steps became such an agonizing task for her, especially with how hard it’s for her to see from her wet glasses. The walk felt longer and tiring than usual, she wasn’t even sure if she could make it out alive.

So, when she heard a carriage coming from behind her, she immediately wanted to jump into it and asked for a lift. Although, looking at her appearance now, there’s no one who would share a closed carriage with her. They would probably think that she is crazy.

Hange ignored the passing carriage as it went past her, but then, the carriage immediately halted not far from her. She stopped from her track as the carriage’s window opened and a head emerged from the inside.

Even though she couldn’t see clearly who the person was, she still recognized that voice.

“What the hell happened to you?” The person asked in his usual cold tone, but Hange noticed a slight difference in his speech, because as soon as she heard him, she felt a slight warmness spreading through her.

“Mr. Ackerman?!” Hange widened her eyes, “I thought you wouldn’t be at home until tomorrow?”

It was still Friday in the afternoon, so he was clearly ahead of the usual schedule.

“I have a meeting with my Estate Agent this evening,” He answered.

“Oh, I see.”

. . .

Hange tightened her hands around herself and looked at anywhere but him, she didn’t know what to do. Should she leave first or should she wait for him?

. . .

“Come in.”

Hange peeked and glanced back at him, “Yes?”

“You heard me.”

Hange raised one of her brows. She couldn’t believe his offer. The thing is, it was a big no for an unmarried man and woman to ride together in a closed carriage. Furthermore, sharing a carriage with him is something she didn’t want to do.

“A-are you serious, sir?” Hange asked in a low voice.

“Do I need to spell it to you? Come on, move your ass inside.” He raised his voice.

Hange slowly walked toward the carriage and stopped as soon as she arrived near the door, “I can’t possibly go inside, I will ruin the interior.”

“Seriously? That’s your concern?” He asked in disbelief before moving his attention to the person sitting at the driver seat, “Hey you, do you mind if this lady went in to ruin your carriage?”

The driver, who was draped in a long raincoat, jolted in his seat and stammered, “Uh… sir…”

Mr. Ackerman let out an exasperated sigh, “Listen, I’ll pay you twice the fee.”

Hange opened her mouth to protest but she was halted by the sudden movement from the driver who jumped from his seat and opened the door for her. The driver offered his hand to help her go in, but Hange ignored it, instead she gave her employer a piercing gaze.

“I can’t let you do that!” She said firmly, but he didn’t seem to be affected by her.

“So, what do you want me to do? Leave you?”

_Yes!_

That’s what she wanted to say, but she couldn’t form the words in her mouth, especially not with how genuine he sounded while telling her that...

“Not a chance.” He continued.

It was honestly infuriating.

Hange gritted her teeth and closed her eyes before finally taking the driver’s hand to help her went inside the carriage, murmuring sorry and excuse me. She mouthed thank you to the driver as she settled down to sit in front of her employer. She took off her hat and put it next to her seat, silently mourning that she wouldn’t be able to wear that hat again.

Not long after the door was closed, the carriage began to move again.

Hange shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she felt a deep gaze stabbing her from the front. She tried to ignore it, choosing to look at anywhere but him.

When she looked at their legs and noticed how close she was to him. This was definitely the closest she’s ever been to him, and she already made a mental note to avoid this situation in the future. Especially with how the carriage felt cramped with tension and silence that Hange was not familiar and comfortable with. She wanted to break the silence but she wasn’t sure if he’s in the mood for a conversation.

_I guess this is what we’re going to do for the next ten minutes._

She wanted to scream.

But then, a miracle happened.

“You look like a drenched cat.” He suddenly remarked with his usual flat emotionless expression that immediately reminded her to a certain girl.

“Oh, yes… I guess so.” She replied with an awkward smile.

He didn’t reply, and instead she could feel him scanning her from up to bottom with his narrow eyes. By the look of his deep frown, he definitely didn’t approve her decision that led her to this position.

She tried to ignore his gaze again by averting her eyes to the windows. Honestly, she just wanted to get over this trip and sleep.

“Here.”

Hange looked back at him and saw him extending his hand toward her, there’s a handkerchief neatly folded in his hand. She stared at him with her brows furrowed and mouth slightly agape.

“What?!” He was clearly irritated. “For your shitty glasses and your dumb face.”

Hange stared at the handkerchief, then to him, then back to the handkerchief, and back to—

“Are you deaf?”

Hange gasped, “Ah, yes— I mean, no! Uhm, thank you... sir.” She said before carefully taking the handkerchief from him.

Her hand fidgeted around the handkerchief, and when she tried to take off her glasses, she could feel her hand tremble under his gaze. Because, even if she didn’t see him, she could tell that he was watching her.

Slowly, she started to rub the handkerchief to her glasses while thinking about other things, like…

“I assume you didn’t plan on being drenched in the rain today.”

Hange nearly dropped the handkerchief and her glasses when she heard him talk. She didn’t remember him being the talkative one.

“No, this wasn’t in the plan.” Hange gave him a small smile.

“But you do look like someone who would enjoy this kind of thing.”

She nodded, “I do, but not today.”

He gave her a side glance, “You know this could be prevented if you take one of the carriage from the manor, right?”

“I know,” She sighed before smiling, “But, I rather walk.”

“Then, why didn’t you bring your umbrella?”

Hange snorted, “I chose not to bring it, which in turn led to a series of unfortunate events.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“But! I don’t want to take the full blame here, because I wouldn’t be like this if I didn’t get splashed by someone.”

He furrowed his thin dark eyebrows, “Splashed?”

Hange let out an annoyed sigh and before she knew it, she told him about the event leading to this moment. It felt so weird but she could feel her body slowly lost its tension as she poured all of her feelings to him.

So, as soon as her realization hit her, she paused in the middle of her speech and gasped. “OH! I talked too much, am I? I am very—”

“No, it’s fine.” He cut her.

To her surprise, he didn’t seem to be bothered by it. Although she started to wonder if he just wasn’t capable of engineering other emotions.

“Let me get one thing straight.” He continued, “So, you decided to walk in the rain because you got splashed?”

“Well, I already got wet from the puddle,” Hange shrugged.

“Not your lucky day, huh?”

For the first time, she saw the corner of his mouth raised into a smirk. It was a quick one but she caught it, and somehow it made her warm.

“It seemed like it, but then I met you. I assume it’s not so unlucky at all.” Hange automatically smiled at him as she replied, but the smile slowly disappeared as she realized the implication of her words.

Too late though. She caught a glimpse of him looking at her with widened eyes, and Hange wanted to swallow her words back into her throat.

She let out another laugh before averted her gaze from him to focus on her other task, that is to wipe her face. But, as soon as she brought it to her face, she immediately noticed the smell of fresh soap with a hint of iris coming from the handkerchief.

_Maybe he also sme—_

Hange cleared her throat and quickly tapped her face dry before she finally wore her glasses again. She folded the handkerchief before glancing at him.

He was leaning back on his seat with hands folded and head lowered, hidden underneath his top hat. From her point of view, he didn’t look like he wanted to be bothered.

It seemed that she should hold onto this for now.

Hange continued her previous activity of watching the road from the window, and she noticed that the rain had finally stopped. But, at the same time, she also noticed that her body started to shiver and tremble from the breeze coming from the small space near the window. Hange wanted to curl and hug herself, but —glancing at the person in front of him— she chose to do nothing.

Then, she heard a rustling sound coming from him. When she wanted to see what was that about, she didn’t expect it to be him giving her his cloak.

He didn’t say anything nor express anything.

But, oddly, she understood him.

Small and soft thank you fell from her mouth as she wore the cloak around her, feeling the warmness of his body that was still left on the fabric. Her nose immediately caught the familiar smell that she still remembered from his handkerchief.

Suddenly, she felt like the carriage became smaller and hotter.

The fact that he also stared at her didn’t help it either.

“Uhm, is there something you wanted to say, sir?”

He narrowed her eyes, “Huh?”

“You stared at me, so I suppose you wanted to talk about something… sir?” She said but it came across as a question rather than answer.

“What?” He raised his voice, “I’m not looking at you, you just happen to be on my view. Can’t you see that we are inside a freaking carriage? Where else should I fucking put my gaze to?”

Hange mentally took a step back.

_Whoa._

Hange leaned back and stared at him blankly, “Right, I’m sorry, sir.” She glanced at the windows before glancing back at him “Well, how about outside?”

“Outside?” He stared at her with creased brows.

“Yes, outside.” She answered with a small smile before averting her gaze back to the windows, “You could look outside the windows. There’s a lot of interesting things that you might be able to see, sir. Like— ”

Then, something caught her eyes.

She immediately gleefully exclaimed, “Oh! Look at that!” She motioned her hand to him, as if asking him to join.

Hange could feel the questioning look that pierced through her body, but she didn’t care.

“Like that, sir! Did you see that? There’s a frog— ah poor him. Is he alone?” Then she gasped when she saw some more frogs near the lake, “Oh, there! Your family and friends are waiting for you!”

She glanced at him, “Did you see that, Mr. Ackerman?”

He stared at her for a while before finally glancing at the windows and nodded.

“Aren’t they cute and interesting?” She cheered before gasping, “Oh! Did you know that frogs are oftentime confused with toads?”

“No.”

“They are different sir! You see, that small creature we just saw is a frog because he hopped. Toads don’t hop, they crawl because they have shorter legs. You could also tell by the living conditions, frogs live near water while toads don’t. That’s also why frogs’ skin looked shinier or even slimier than toads.” She explained, quickly glancing at him to see his reaction.

He nodded while still looking at the windows, “I see.”

“Even their tadpoles are different. The frog tadpoles are slimmer with golden flecks, meanwhile the toad tadpoles are chunkier without any color other than black.”

“You knew an awful lot about them. Were you spending your childhood looking at frogs and toads?” He remarked and it made Hange burst into a laugh.

“That was actually true! I used to live with my grandparents for a while. They live in a country, so I had a really big area to play and explore. One day, I found some tadpoles in the pond and I was so fascinated that I spent my time watching them, and as they grew, I noticed that there are two different kinds of tadpoles. When I asked my grandfather about it, he gave me his books about animals and plants. It was a really eye-opening experience, because ever since that day, I couldn’t shut up reading, talking, and exploring around nature.”

“I suppose you are similar to your grandfather.”

“You are right again, sir!” She cheered, “But, he was a doctor who prefers to work with humans. Meanwhile, I prefer to work with animals and plants.”

He hummed, “At least that explained why you get along with Erwin, fucking genius bastard.”

Hange smiled at his comment, it was probably the nicest thing he ever said to her, “So you think I’m a genius?”

“Obviously, I wouldn’t hire you if you aren’t.” He said like it was a fact. “I wouldn’t even keep you around Mikasa if you are dumb.”

Hange couldn’t fight the happiness emerging from her, this was her first praise from her employer about her job. Her first praise ever from all of her jobs history. She felt herself softened as she looked at him and muttered, “Thank you.”

Hange noticed that he immediately took his gaze back to the windows and muttered, “Yeah.”

She decided to follow his gaze, watching how the sky became brighter than before, signalling that _maybe_ , there’ll be no more rain. Hange wanted to say something but her breath stopped when she saw _that._

She automatically tapped his knee before pointing at the windows, specifically the sky.

“RAINBOW!” She shrieked as she glued her gaze to the windows. “Do you see it, sir?”

Hange had seen plenty of rainbows, but the one she saw today was different than usual. It looked brighter, clearer, and real. So much so that she felt like she could run on top of it.

“Isn’t that beautiful?” She asked, looking at the sky with a wide smile.

She heard him humming before answering a short, “Yes.”

* * *

The carriage arrived the manor exactly ten minutes later. It was probably the longest ten minutes Hange had ever spent with someone.

Hange sighed with glee.

_Finally!_

As the driver opened the carriage door, her employer was the first one to get off.

_He probably wanted to be away from me as soon as possible._

She mentally sulked to herself.

_“To think that I started to enjoy his company.”_ She said that in her mind as she watched his figure disappear from her gaze. Hange took her hat and prepared to get off the carriage..

But then, she saw a clean white gloved hand being offered at her.

She blinked once.

She blinked twice.

She blinked thrice.

The hand didn’t disappear.

She glanced to the owner of said hand and saw the familiar grey eyes staring back at her.

_Yes, that is definitely his hand._

_. . ._

_But why?_

_Well, obviously because he’s a gentleman Hange!_

_It shouldn’t become a surprise to see him do that._

_He just wanted to help you._

_That’s all._

“What?” He suddenly interrupted her thought, eyes narrowed.

_Shit, she probably spent the last seconds staring at him._

“Uh, nothing.” Hange quickly answered.

_Wait, why does she sound so meek._

The thing is… Hange wasn't wearing her gloves. She took it off because it got so wet and uncomfortable from the rain.

Hange stared back again at his hand, his clean and neat gloved hand.

_Should I be touching that?_

_What if I stained his glove?_

_NO!_

_Stop it Hange, just do it. It would be rude to refuse him._

She took a deep breath, mentally slapping herself. Slowly, Hange reached for his hand as she walked out from the carriage.

Hange’s eyes went wide as she felt his hand clenching around her as soon as she touched him. His hand is larger than but he was nowhere anything but gentle with her.

As soon as she stepped on the road, she immediately pulled her hand away, probably too soon.

“Thank you,” She whispered, bowing her head slightly to him.

“Hurry up and clena yourself, I don’t want you roaming around the manor looking like that.” He instructed in usual flat voice.

“Yes, sir!” Hange answered, still bowing at him.

“Also, take off your shoes before you go inside.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’ll tell them to prepare you a hot bath— and no, I don’t take no for an answer. This is an order.” He sternly said. “I will tell Mikasa that you took a half day off.”

Hange was preparing to protest—

_“Get rest, don’t get sick.”_

Hange immediately raised her head, but too late, he had already gone away.

She heard it.

_She heard it._

It was a mumble. if she wasn’t paying any attention, she sure would miss it.

Hange’s eyes went wide as she stared at his back that slowly disappeared into the manor.

Suddenly, she felt someone coming over to her, screaming something to her.

It was Moblit but she couldn’t understand anything that he said. Hange felt her whole body freezes up and the only thing that she could feel was the warm buzz that came from her hand.

_Today is definitely not so unlucky after all._

* * *

Levi felt a tap on her knee and suddenly he heard her saying something about rainbow and whether he saw it or not.

Didn’t she know that they were looking in the same direction?

_“Of course I saw it, four eyes. I’m not blind.”_ He wanted to say that but then she saw her, sitting against the windows. Her eyes bright under the warm ray of sun, sparkling while looking at the sky. He could see the seven colors of the sky reflected in her face

But then, when he saw her mouth widened into a smile, he knew he was wrong.

It wasn’t seven, it was eight.

There were eight colors.

“Isn’t that beautiful?”

His gaze remained unmoved.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS MY FAVORITE CHAPTER (so far); I mean, you could say that I write this fanfic just to make this chapter HAHA  
> Period AU! is all about the **yearning** and **subtlety** *GOOD FOOD*  
> I nearly died writing this chapter ngl.
> 
> But I digress,,, Thank you so much for reading up until this point! Do share your thought :D  
> See you next chapter!!


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